CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Church Commissioners: Licensing

Frank Field: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners how many special licences were granted in each year since 1997.

Stuart Bell: These figures are not held by the central Church institutions but I understand from the Office for National Statistics that the figures for 1997 to 2004 (the latest year for which figures are available) are as follows:
	
		
			   Total number of Special Licences in England and Wales 
			 1997 1,952 
			 1998 1,878 
			 1999 1,861 
			 2000 1,877 
			 2001 1,805 
			 2002 1,784 
			 2003 1,966 
			 2004 2,226

Churches: Gift Aid

Robert Key: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners what assessment he has made of the impact on church income from the gift aid scheme of a reduction in the basic rate of tax following the Budget statement.

Stuart Bell: We estimate that the reduction in the basic rate of tax will reduce the income of parishes up and down the country by about £7.7 million.
	We do, however, welcome the fact that the Chancellor will consult the charitable sector about measures to increase the take-up of Gift Aid. We also welcome his undertaking to consider in the run-up to the Spending Review what other financial help could be given to churches.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Buildings: Greater London

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to revise planning guidance, regulations or circulars on tall buildings in London.

Yvette Cooper: There is no Government planning guidance, regulations or circulars specifically on tall buildings in London, though the Mayor of London sets out policies on tall buildings in his London Plan. In addition, the Government are currently consulting on draft directions for 11 protected vistas being proposed by the Mayor in his London Views Management Framework.

Council Housing: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people living  (a) in Colchester local authority area and  (b) outside the Colchester local authority area are on the Colchester housing transfer list; and what the figures were in 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Information regarding housing transfers is not held centrally. However, local authorities in England report the numbers of households (not people) on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. I refer the hon. Member to my reply given today UIN 133374.

Council Housing: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many people living  (a) in Colchester local authority area and  (b) outside the Colchester local authority area are on the Colchester housing waiting list; and what the figures were in 1997.

Yvette Cooper: Local authorities in England report the numbers of households (not people) on their housing waiting list as at 1 April in their annual Housing Strategy Statistical Appendix returns. However, the information is not broken down by whether the household is living within or outside the local authority district.
	The number of households on Colchester borough council's housing waiting list, as at 1 April each year, is published on the Communities and Local Government website in Table 600. The link for this table is given as follows:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/embedded_object.asp?id::=l163853
	Not everyone on the waiting list is necessarily in urgent housing need. The waiting list includes those who consider social housing as their preferred or one of a number of housing options, and those who decide to get on to the waiting list ladder before they need or want to move house—particularly where the priority system is heavily based on waiting time.

Council Housing: Property Transfer

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many and what percentage of those voting in each large scale voluntary transfer ballot voted  (a) for and  (b) against transfer in each of the last three years.

Yvette Cooper: The information requested is as follows.
	
		
			  Date tenant ballot closed  LA/scheme  Valid votes cast  Votes in favour  Percentage in favour  Votes against  Percentage against 
			 1 April 2004 Trafford MBC 7,024 5,121 72.91 1,903 27.09 
			 2 April 2004 Manchester CC Woodhouse Park(1) 2,149 1,993 92.7 156 7.3 
			 14 April 2004 Wirral MBC 10,087 7,803 77.36 2,284 22.64 
			 19 April 2004 Wakefield MDC 25,487 18,767 73.6 6,720 26.4 
			 4 May 2004 North East Lincolnshire Council 6,335 4,249 67.26 2,086 32.74 
			 17 May 2004 RB Kingston 3,812 1,421 37 2,391 63 
			 21 June 2004 LB Tower Hamlets Mile End East(1) 651 364 55.9 287 44.1 
			 21 July 2004 LB Lambeth Kennington(1) 507 304 60.08 203 39.92 
			 27 July 2004 LB Islington SURCO(1) 227 125 55.8 102 44.2 
			 28 July 2004 LB Islington Grove(1) 103 75 72.82 28 27.18 
			 2 August 2004 LB Tower Hamlets, Tarling East(1) 48 37 77.1 11 22.92 
			 18 October 2004 LB Tower Hamlets—Crossways(1) 120 108 90 12 10 
			 22 November 2004 Halton BC 4,672 3,646 78.1 1,026 21.9 
			 8 December 2004 Kings Lynn and W Norfolk BC 5,686 4,350 76.5 1,336 23.5 
			 16 December 2004 Preston CC 3,939 3,188 81.4 751 18.61 
			 20 December 2004 Manchester CC Haughton Green(1) 747 707 94.9 40 5.1 
			 20 December 2004 LB Tower Hamlets Leopold and Burdett(1) 255 161 63.4 94 36.6 
			 24 March 2005 LB Lambeth Clapham Park (1) 1,108 654 59.3 454 40.7 
			 29 March 2005 Stafford BC 4,462 2,973 66.8 1,489 33.2 
			 31 March 2005 North Norfolk DC 4,387 2,804 64 1,583 36 
			 1 April 2005 Broxbourne BC 2,748 1,908 69.7 840 30.3 
			 4 April 2005 North Somerset Council 4,992 3,800 76.5 1,192 23.5 
			 4 April 2005 Ellesmere Port and Neston BC 4,210 2,027 48.2 2,183 51.8 
			 8 April 2005 LB Tower Hamlets Island Homes(1) 605 391 65.5 214 34.5 
			 8 April 2005 LB Tower Hamlets Island Gardens Isle of Dogs(1) 355 268 76.6 87 23.4 
			 8 April 2005 LB Tower Hamlets St. Georges(1) 161 105 66.0 56 34 
			 27 April 2005 Manchester CC—Hattersley(1) 1,394 1,290 92.5 104 7.46 
			 27 May 2005 LB Tower Hamlets Sheltered(1) 208 124 60.2 84 39.8 
			 9 June 2005 Hyndburn BC 2,562 2,027 79.2 535 20.8 
			 12 July 2005 LB Islington Ringcross(1) 141 111 78.7 30 21.3 
			 19 July 2005 Sedgefield BC 8,173 3,421 41.9 4,752 58.1 
			 22 July 2005 LB Tower Hamlets—Parkside(1) 820 413 50.4 407 49.6 
			 26 July 2005 Teesdale DC 831 733 88.2 98 11.8 
			 17 August 2005 Macclesfield BC 4,491 2,794 62.2 1,697 37.8 
			 18 August 2005 Sefton Council 9,113 4,089 44.95 5,024 55.05 
			 22 September 2005 LB Tower Hamlets, Mansford(1) 212 135 64.0 77 36 
			 22 September 2005 LB Tower Hamlets, Lincoln(1) 122 52 42.6 70 57.4 
			 22 September 2005 LB Tower Hamlets Chicksand West(1) 112 88 78.6 24 21.4 
			 22 September 2005 LB Tower Hamlet—Wapping(1) 363 154 42.5 209 57.5 
			 22 September 2005 LB Tower Hamlets—Glamis(1) 117 81 69.2 36 30.8 
			 8 November 2005 Rossendale BC 2,795 2,308 82.6 487 17.4 
			 11 November 2005 Aylesbury Vale DC 6,308 4,690 74.4 1,618 25.6 
			 11 November 2005 Sheffield CC Shiregreen(1) 2,304 1,979 85.9 325 14.1 
			 2 December 2005 Manchester CC W Wythenshawe(1) 5,065 4,480 88.7 585 11.3 
			 5 December 2005 Derwentside DC 5,322 4,028 75.7 1,294 24.26 
			 9 December 2005 Waverley BC 4,095 1,926 47.25 2,169 52.75 
			 12 December 2005 West Lancs DC 4,683 1,984 43 2,699 57 
			 13 December 2005 Sefton Council 7,261 5,172 71.4 2,089 28.6 
			 19 December 2005 LB Lambeth Stockwell Park(1) 786 621 79.1 165 20.9 
			 21 December 2005 LB Tower Hamlets Longnor Norfolk and Osier(1) 175 80 45.7 95 54.3 
			 21 December 2005 LB Tower Hamlets Stepney Green and Clichy(1) 369 138 37.4 231 62.6 
			 21 December 2005 LB Tower Hamlets Exmouth(1) 255 199 78.0 56 22 
			 21 December 2005 LB Tower Hamlets Cranbrook(1) 195 55 28.2 140 71.8 
			 21 December 2005 LB Tower Hamlets Granby Hereford(1) 203 74 36.5 129 63.5 
			 21 December 2005 LB Tower Hamlets Barleymow(1) 140 62 44.3 78 55.7 
			 21 December 2005 LB Tower Hamlets Lansbury(1) 377 232 61.5 145 38.5 
			 22 February 2006 Mid Devon DC 3,054 744 24.4 2,310 75.6 
			 24 February 2006 LB Tower Hamlets Holland(1) 173 128 74.0 45 26 
			 10 March 2006 Selby DC 3,021 1,055 34.5 1,966 65.5 
			 10 March 2006 LB Tower Hamlets Devons(1) 326 175 53.7 151 46.3 
			 10 March 2006 LB Tower Hamlets Bow Bridge(1) 159 114 72.2 45 27.8 
			 15 March 2006 Pendle BC 2,917 2,453 84.4 464 15.6 
			 27 March 2006 Cannock Chase DC 4,696 2,260 48.1 2,436 51.9 
			 28 March 2006 North Lincolnshire Council 7,960 5,012 63.0 2,948 37 
			 31 March 2006 Waveney DC 4,508 1,458 32.3 3,050 67.7 
			 27 April 2006 South Gloucestershire Council 6,314 4,032 64.0 2,282 36 
			 13 July 2006 Sheffield CC Loxley Wadsley Wisewood(1) 574 437 76.1 137 23.9 
			 28 July 2006 LB Tower Hamlets Collingwood and Horwood(1) 451 224 49.7 227 50.3 
			 8 August 2006 Chorley BC 2,378 1,499 63.1 879 36.9 
			 28 September 2006 LB Tower Hamlets Boundary(1) 256 32 12.6 224 87.4 
			 28 September 2006 LB Tower Hamlets Locksley(1) 304 105 34.5 199 65.5 
			 28 September 2006 LB Tower Hamlets Cleveland(1) 127 53 41.7 74 58.3 
			 28 September 2006 LB Tower Hamlets Ocean(1) 666 248 37.3 418 62.7 
			 3 November 2006 LB Tower Hamlets Dinmont(1) 31 29 93.5 2 6.5 
			 3 November 2006 LB Tower Hamlets East India(1) 464 365 78.8 99 21.2 
			 10 November 2006 Watford BC 3,497 1,902 54.5 1,595 45.5 
			 13 November 2006 South Kesteven DC 4,791 1,278 26.8 3,513 73.2 
			 29 November 2006 Salisbury DC 4,810 1,377 28.7 3,433 71.3 
			 1 December 2006 Gravesham BC 4,903 685 14 4,218 86 
			 6 December 2006 North Shropshire DC 1,872 1,481 79.5 391 20.5 
			 7 December 2006 Fenland DC 3,257 1,747 53.9 1,510 46.1 
			 7 December 2006 LB Islington Packington(1) 319 285 89.3 34 10.66 
			 13 December 2006 LB Lewisham Phoenix(1) 2,976 2,023 68.7 953 31.3 
			 14 December 2006 Daventry DC 2,638 2,025 76.8 613 23.2 
			 15 December 2006 Castle Morpeth BC 1,997 1,745 87.4 252 12.6 
			 15 December 2006 Braintree DC 6,910 4,304 62.3 2,606 37.7 
			 15 December 2006 Rochford DC 1,491 1,234 82.8 257 17.2 
			 15 December 2006 Wellingborough BC 3,500 2,616 74.7 884 25.3 
			 18 December 2006 Taunton Deane BC 4,802 1,502 31.3 3,300 68.7 
			 18 December 2006 Sheffield CC Harold Lambert Court(1) 536 416 77.6 120 22.4 
			 18 December 2006 LB Sutton Roundshaw(1) 364 214 58.8 150 41.2 
			 18 December 2006 Sheffield CC Lower Manor(1) 919 808 87.9 111 12.1 
			 18 December 2006 Sheffield CC Wybourn(1) 736 541 73.5 195 26.5 
			 21 December 2006 Tower Hamlets Alfred and Malmesbury(1) 338 167 49.4 171 50.6 
			 2 February 2007 Sheffield CC Hyde Park Walk and Terrace(1) 135 101 74.8 34 25.2 
			 2 February 2007 Sheffield CC Richmond Park, Birklands and Athelstan(1) 428 304 71.0 124 29 
			 20 February 2007 Brighton and Hove CC 8,744 2,014 23 6,730 77 
			 5 March 2007 Manchester CC South(1) 4,943 2,904 58.9 2,039 41.1 
			 15 March 2007 Chester Le Street DC 3,712 2,251 60.6 1,461 39.4 
			 16 March 2007 Wansbeck DC 4,299 3,648 84.9 651 15.1 
			 21 March 2007 Harborough DC 1,800 1,375 76.4 425 23.6 
			 26 March 2007 Mole Valley DC 3,011 2,587 85.9 424 14.1 
			 30 March 2007 Torridge DC 1,551 1,304 84.1 247 15.9 
			 30 March 2007 Liverpool CC Remainder of stock(1) 11,100 8,653 78.0 2,447 22 
			 10 April 2007 Bracknell Forest BC 4,560 3,453 75.7 1,107 24.3 
			 (1) Denotes partial area.

Council Housing: Street Warden Scheme

Anne Snelgrove: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which local authorities make an additional charge on council house rents to pay for street wardens.

Yvette Cooper: We do not collect information centrally on local authority funding for particular warden schemes.

Council Housing: Westminster

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes she expects to be upgraded in Westminster under the Decent Homes Initiative over the life of the programme; and how much she expects the Government to have spent on the programme over its lifetime.

Yvette Cooper: In the City of Westminster there are 12,407 homes owned by the local authority and managed by City West Homes the Council's arm's length management organisation. The Government have allocated £74 million in supported capital expenditure to City West Homes between 2002 and 2006 for its decent homes programme.
	Local authorities started reporting on decent homes in 2002. Between 2002 and 2006 the number of non-decent council homes in Westminster was reduced by 9,665. At 1 April 2006 there were still 1,182 non-decent council homes. Data by local authority for registered social landlords (RSLs) have only been collected since 2005. Between 2005 and 2006 the number of non-decent RSL homes was reduced by 167. At 1 April 2006 there were still 1,706 non-decent RSL homes.
	The decent homes programme also covers non decent homes in the private sector occupied by vulnerable households but we do not hold these data at the local authority level.
	The cost per house of meeting the decent homes standard varies across the country and the Department does not collect those figures separately. Some local authorities are refurbishing the houses in their area significantly above the decent homes standard. What the improved standard is and how it will be achieved will be determined by local circumstances and the level of resources that can be brought to the programme locally. The Government expect over £31 billion to be spent on refurbishing council homes by 2010, this includes local authorities' own investment and raising houses above the decent homes standard.

Departments: Consultants

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much her Department and its predecessor spent on  (a) consultants and  (b) advertising in (i) 2004-05 and (ii) 2005-06.

Angela Smith: In respect of the spend on consultants I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by Baroness Andrews to Lord Smith of Clifton on 18 May 2006,  Official Report, column WA61.
	
		
			  The spend on advertising in 2004-05 and 2005-06 
			  £ million 
			 2004-05 5.04 
			 2005-06 4.7

Home Information Packs

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the estimated total budget is of the Home Condition Report database.

Yvette Cooper: The Home Condition Report Register is provided under a concession agreement so there is no cost to Communities and Local Government.

Homebuy Scheme

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  how many individuals have completed a sale to part-own or own their social home under the Social Homebuy scheme;
	(2)  how many  (a) housing associations and  (b) local authorities are offering the Social Homebuy scheme.

Yvette Cooper: 33 Social Homebuy sales were completed up to the end of February 2007 and there are 575 applications in the pipeline. The sales are mainly from the four first housing association pilots.
	41 housing associations and two local authorities have now begun offering the scheme to their tenants as part of the Social Homebuy pilot. We expect a further 37 housing associations and six more local authorities to do so by April 2007.

Housing: Carbon Monoxide

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the percentage of private homes in  (a) England and  (b) each region which have carbon monoxide levels higher than those deemed safe by the World Health Organisation.

Angela Smith: While data are collected for carbon monoxide emissions and carbon monoxide related fatalities, no statistics are routinely collected about carbon monoxide levels in homes.

Housing: Finance

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what projections the Government have made of the future net financial position of housing revenue authorities over the next five years on the basis of current policy.

Yvette Cooper: holding answer 19 March 2007
	This Department does not make forecasts of future net financial positions on a local authority basis.

Housing: Low Incomes

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the cost of providing new houses for key workers by  (a) purchase assistance,  (b) purchase from housing associations and  (c) construction of (i) social housing and (ii) council housing.

Yvette Cooper: The Government offer specific housing assistance to key workers in areas experiencing problems of recruitment and retention difficulties under the key worker living (KWL) scheme. The scheme operates in London, the south east and east of England. Key worker living funding is divided between Open Market HomeBuy (equity loans to purchase properties on the open market) and new build products such as New Build HomeBuy (shared ownership of newly built homes) and intermediate rent (where the rent is set at a level between that charged by social and private landlords).
	On 2 October 2006 Open Market HomeBuy was re-launched in partnership with four mortgage lenders. Half of the equity loan is provided by Government and half by the mortgage lender. This reduces the level of public sector subsidy required making it possible to help more people into different forms of shared ownership. The average grant per unit for key worker Open Market HomeBuy completions in the current financial year prior to the re-launch of the product was £39,687. Currently the average grant rate per unit for key workers that have purchased under the new Expanded Open Market HomeBuy product is £26,762.
	The estimated average grant per unit for New Build HomeBuy properties in the three key worker living regions under the national affordable housing programme for 2006-2008 is £34,623.
	We do not collect data on key worker access to social rented properties. The average cost of providing a social rented unit nationally was £133,941 of which £62,000 was the average public subsidy in the form of grant. Statistics are not collected on the construction costs specifically of new council housing.

Housing: Low Incomes

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what plans she has to bring forward proposals to establish a common definition of community land trust in statute law.

Yvette Cooper: The Department is currently examining what further action may be required to facilitate development of the community land trust model.

Housing: South East Region

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the effect of Planning Policy Statement 3 on the number of dwellings that will be built on greenfield sites in the south-east.

Yvette Cooper: No specific assessment has been made of the effect of Planning Policy Statement 3: "Housing" on the numbers of dwellings likely to be built on greenfield sites in the south-east. This will depend on the decisions of local planning authorities in identifying suitable locations for housing to meet the needs of households in their areas, as well as their wider planning policies, especially in relation to the density of housing development.
	PPS3 gives local planning authorities the tools and flexibilities they need to ensure that priority is given to the development of brownfield sites, including by taking stronger action to bring more brownfield land back into use, by setting targets and trajectories for brownfield development which reflect local circumstances, and by managing the release of land over time to deliver against those targets and trajectories.

Housing: South East Region

Anne Milton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many new homes in the south-east were built on windfall sites in each year between 2001 and 2006.

Yvette Cooper: This information is not held by the department.

Housing: Surveys

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the timetable is for the collation of data for the next English Housing Survey.

Yvette Cooper: The Department currently conducts two continuous housing surveys: the Survey of English Housing and the English House Condition Survey. However, these are to be merged into a single survey, the English Housing Survey, which will start in April 2008 with fieldwork conducted throughout the year.
	The proposed timetable for the publication of annual reports from the existing surveys is:
	
		
			  Survey of English Housing 
			  Report for the year  Date of publication 
			 2005-06 September 2007 
			 2006-07 May 2008 
			 2007-08 May 2009 
		
	
	English House Condition Survey annual reports are published every May. The report for 2005 will be published in May 2007.
	The timetable for publishing outputs from the new English Housing Survey has not been finalised. Some preliminary reports based on the first survey year (2008-09) may be published towards the end of 2009.

Housing: Surveys

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether her Department is  (a) gathering and  (b) compiling data on individual homes for its housing surveys.

Yvette Cooper: The Department conducts two continuous housing surveys, the Survey of English Housing and the English House Condition Survey. Both are sample surveys that involve interviewing households at randomly selected addresses in England. Property inspections are also conducted as part of the English House Condition Survey.
	In accordance with the National Statistics Code of Practice, no information is published that would enable individuals or their addresses to be identified. Moreover, the identities of participating households are anonymous; and their addresses are known only to the survey teams.

Local Government Finance

David Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to make available to local authorities that part of this year's local authority Business Growth Initiative awards which has been withheld; and what assessment she has made of the impact on local authority budgets of the withholding of those awards.

Phil Woolas: As we have previously announced, in the three years to 2007-08 local authorities will receive up to £l billion through the Local Authority Business Growth Initiative. We have abolished the ceiling but due to judicial reviews brought by Corby and Slough borough councils, this year payments have been scaled back to 70 per cent. of their value to protect the important incentive this scheme creates for authorities both in this year and next year. Authorities received £316 million this year which is more than two and a half times the £126 million of grant paid last year and 50 more authorities received LABGI grant this year than last.
	There is therefore a detrimental effect on local authorities due to the action of Slough and Corby councils. I have made no assessment of this impact.

Planning: Aviation

Lembit �pik: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  whether, under Planning Policy Statement 3, open land associated with an airfield and used for recreational aviation will be potentially subject to development; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  whether, under Planning Policy Statement 3, the Government have changed their policy on the protection of airfields from development; and if she will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Ashford (Damian Green) on 19 February 2007,  Official Report , column 500W.

Public Footpaths

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government pursuant to the answer of 12 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 152-3W, on public footpaths, whether the requirements placed on local planning authorities in respect of changes to rights of way also apply in respect of the proposed creation of new public footpaths, cycleways and bridle paths.

Yvette Cooper: The proposed creation of new public footpaths and bridleways is covered by the Public Paths Orders Regulations 1993, as set out in the answer given to the hon. Member for Colchester on 12 March 2007,  Official Report, column 152-3W.
	There are three ways of creating new cycle tracks:
	 (a) New cycle tracks can be created under powers in section 24(2) of the Highways Act 1980. Planning permission is usually required for this.
	 (b) Cycle tracks can be created by converting an existing footpath, or part of a footpath, by an order made under the Cycle Tracks Act 1984, to which the Cycle Tracks Regulations 1984 apply. These require consultation with one or more organisations representing persons using the footpath, any local authority, parish council or community council whose area the footpath is situated, statutory undertakers and the local police.
	 (c) Cycle tracks can also be created by converting part of the footway (the pavement adjacent to a road) by an order under the Highways Act 1980. There are no statutory procedures for footway conversions, but proposals are advertised by site notices and notices in local newspapers, following the appropriate council resolution.
	Advice on the conversion of footpaths and footways is contained in Local Transport Note 2/86 Shared Use by Cyclists and Pedestrians and advice on the establishment of new cycle tracks is to be found in Local Transport Note 1/89 Making Way for Cyclists, which also provides advice on footway conversion notices.

Regional Government

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many regional assemblies are reviewing their social, economic and environmental partners membership; and at what cost.

Yvette Cooper: Regional assemblies as voluntary bodies decide their own composition so long as a minimum of 30 per cent. of their members represent social, economic and environmental partners as set down in their letters of designation. Regional assemblies will review their membership following local government elections each year. The south west and east of England regional assemblies are currently undertaking a review of their regional stakeholder members. This is being undertaken in the ordinary course of business at no additional cost.
	The Yorkshire and Humber assembly has recently commissioned a study into the role of social, economic and environmental partners, with the aim of ensuring that all partners are supported in helping deliver the broad objectives agreed by the region. The total cost of the work is 7,900.

Regional Planning and Development: Eastern Region

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which social, economic and environmental partners receive  (a) subscription and  (b) grant money from the East of England Regional Assembly; and at what total cost.

Yvette Cooper: The East of England Regional Assembly (EERA) does not pay subscriptions to partnerships, nor does it provide grants for which organisations can apply. However, as part of its purpose to promote the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of the region, it does contribute its funds towards a range of initiatives undertaken by regional partners.
	In 2006-07 EERA allocated approximately 150,000 towards the work of regional organisations which carry out social, economic or environmental initiatives, 75,000 of which was allocated to the East of England Sustainable Development Round Table and its associated Climate Change Partnership. Similar amounts are proposed for 2007-08. Further details of projects or partners which have received support from EERA are contained in its Annual Business Plans available at the EERA website.

Rents: North West Region

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government for how many Rentcharge payers the Government Office for the North West has arranged to receive Rentcharge redemption in each of the last five years.

Yvette Cooper: In the period 1 January 2002 to 31 December 2006, the National Rentcharge Unit received 1,786 applications for redemption. Of these, 214 are still under consideration, 667 were redeemed and 905 were not redeemed.
	
		
			   Cases received  Redeemed  Not redeemed  Total 
			 2002 445 139 306 445 
			 2003 406 156 250 406 
			 2004 299 146 153 299 
			 2005 310 152 158 310 
			 2006 326 74 38 (1)112 
			 Total 1,786 667 905 1,572 
			 (1) Cases still under consideration214. 
		
	
	A regional breakdown is not available.

Right to Buy Scheme

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what powers housing associations and trusts have to impose a two-year moratorium on the selling of houses under right-to-buy legislation.

Yvette Cooper: Social landlords have no general power to suspend the right-to-buy. However, the availability of the right-to-buy may be affected either by demolition plans or by the tenant's own behaviour.
	Where there are plans to demolish the property, service on the tenant of an initial demolition notice suspends the right-to-buy by preventing the tenant from forcing the landlord to complete the sale. Once a final demolition notice has been served, the right-to-buy no longer arises. An initial demolition notice can last up to five years. The final demolition notice must specify, demolition within 24 months (but may be extended by direction of the Secretary of State).
	A landlord may also seek an order from the court suspending the right-to-buy for a specified period on the grounds of antisocial behaviour by the tenant. A tenant may not compel a landlord to complete a right-to-buy sale if an application for a demotion order, or for a suspension order or possession order on the grounds of antisocial behaviour is pending against him or her. In addition, where a tenant is in arrears of rent the landlord cannot be forced to complete the sale so long as payment of the arrears remains outstanding.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Olympic Games

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport pursuant to the answer of 22 February 2007,  Official Report, column 871W, on the Olympic games, what estimate has been made of how the 1.5 billion benefit to the London economy from the games will be apportioned between the London boroughs.

Richard Caborn: The likely economic benefit to individual London boroughs of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games is not yet known. DCMS and our Olympic partners are continuing to analyse and evaluate the many economic, social, cultural and sporting benefits for London, and all sections of the UK, from hosting the games.

Olympic Games: Greater London

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps her Department plans to take to ensure that south west London boroughs share in the  (a) economic,  (b) social and  (c) sporting benefits arising from the 2012 Olympic Games.

Richard Caborn: The Olympic Board has agreed that the Mayor will be responsible for delivering the games' social, economic and environmental benefits for London, as well as improving sports participation at community and grass roots level for all Londoners. As a result, the Greater London Authority (GLA), on behalf of the Mayor, has co-ordinated the preparation of a detailed delivery plan for each of the Olympic sub-objectives relating to London, looking at how potential benefits can be realised for all boroughs, including those located in the south west
	These plans include the summer of sport competitions, the employment and skills taskforce and the pre-volunteer programme, for which Croydon is a pilot borough.
	In addition, Wimbledon will host the Olympic tennis tournament in 2012.

Television: Licensing

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many people were charged for television licence evasion in Lancashire in each of the past five years.

Tony McNulty: I have been asked to reply.
	Local information on charging is not centrally held.
	Data on the number of persons proceeded against at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to television licence evasion in the Lancashire police force area in the years 2001 to 2005 can be found in the following table.
	Court proceedings data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.
	
		
			  N umber of persons proceeded against at magistrates court and found guilty at all courts for offences relating to TV licence evasion in Lancashire police force area( 1,)( )( 2,)( )( 3) 
			   Prosecuted  Found guilty 
			 2001 4,720 4,292 
			 2002 5,058 4,753 
			 2003 3,824 3,444 
			 2004(3) 4,145 3,733 
			 2005 6,270 5,762 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts, and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3 )The TV licensing provisions of the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1949 were replaced by new provisions in the Communications Act 2003 which came into effect 1 April 2004.   Source:  RDSOffice for Criminal Justice Reform.

DEFENCE

Armed Forces: Compensation Scheme

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library  (a) the Defence Analytical Services Agency statistical information and  (b) feedback from (i) users and (ii) claimants on the analysis of the first year of the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.

Derek Twigg: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement of 19 March 2007,  Official Report, column 31WS. A copy of the report is available in the Library of the House. The report is also available on the Service Pensions and Veterans Agency (SPYA) website:
	http://www.veterans-uk.info/pdfs/afcs/afcs_evalreport0506.pdf

Armed Forces: Deployment

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether guidelines exist on how far in advance of deployment a battalion's flight dates should be confirmed; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: Formal guidelines are laid down on how far in advance flight dates should be confirmed to battalions. Defence Instructions and Notices number 03-020 states that detailed itineraries and arrangements for all tasks are to be issued, generally two weeks before the task date. In practice, however, for operations and exercises, battalions are normally given at least 10 to 30 days notice of departure.
	In all situations the guiding principle is to give soldiers as much notice as possible of likely departure dates.

Armed Forces: Drugs

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library a copy of the report of the Directorate of Army Personnel Strategy following its examination of factors which lead to drug use among soldiers referred to in the answer of 17 May 2006, on armed forces (drug offences),  Official Report, columns 952-3W.

Derek Twigg: The Directorate of Army Personnel Strategy's examination of factors which lead to drug use among soldiers is not yet complete. I will consider placing a copy of the report in the House Library when it becomes available.

Bombs

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what munitions testing has been undertaken of the ERBS M85 cluster bomb; and what the failure rate is of the self-destruct mechanism.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 18 April 2007
	 There have been a number of trials of the 155 mm L20A1 Extended Range Bomblet Shell, which contains M85 bomblets. When the totality of test and acceptance firings is analysed over the life of the munition, the average bomblet failure rate is approximately 2 per cent. As part of its ongoing quality and performance regime the MOD continues to actively monitor the performance of this system and explore ways of reducing the failure rate still further in partnership with the supplier.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Christopher Fraser: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many armed forces personnel were redeployed to  (a) Iraq and  (b) Afghanistan within (i) one month, (ii) two months, (iii) three months, (iv) four months, (v) five months, (vi) six months, (vii) one year and (viii) two years of completing their last deployment in each of the last three years.

Adam Ingram: Deployment figures are currently provided at aggregate levels based on manual returns. They are not available in central individual level databases. As such these data could not be collated without incurring disproportionate cost.

Iraq: Peace Keeping Operations

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reason UK forces operate north of Baghdad; and if he will make a statement.

Des Browne: UK forces operate in and around Baghdad, including north of the city, in order to provide support to coalition operations, mentoring and training of Iraqi Security Forces and the provision of Force Protection to UK military and civilian personnel based in and around the city.

Iraq: Police

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of militia infiltration into the Iraqi Police Service; what risk this poses to joint patrols; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 157W.

Nimrod Aircraft

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  whether he has received representations on the safety of Nimrod aircraft from fleet flight crew since September 2006;
	(2)  whether he received representations on the safety of the Nimrod fleet before September 2006;
	(3)  what representations he has received on the use of fuel lines on Nimrod aircraft.

Adam Ingram: Representations has been defined as parliamentary questions and letters from third parties to Ministers.
	Defence Ministers did not receive any official representations on the safety of the Nimrod fleet or the use of fuel lines on Nimrod aircraft from January 2006 to September 2006. Looking back beyond this date could be achieved only at disproportionate cost.
	Since September 2006, whilst Defence Ministers have received official representations on the safety of Nimrod aircraft from members of the public, none of these referred to the use of fuel lines on the aircraft. I have no evidence to suggest that any of these representations were from serving flight crew.
	In recent weeks the Department has received three requests under the Freedom of Information Act on the safety of Nimrod aircraft and on the use of fuel lines on the aircraft. There is no evidence to suggest that any of these requests are from serving flight crew.

War Pensions

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many letters the Veterans Agency has written to personnel in March 2007 waiting for  (a) war disablement pensions and  (b) Armed Forces Compensation Scheme payments; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: We do not hold specific data on the total number of letters sent to those claiming war disablement pensions and payments under the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. This information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Science: Curriculum

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer of 19 March 2007,  Official Report, column 701W, on science: curriculum, 
	(1)  what consultation has taken place on the content of the national curriculum planning guidance;
	(2)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the national curriculum planning guidance.

Jim Knight: As part of the consultation on the secondary curriculum review, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority is seeking views on general draft supporting materials. The materials have been designed to be used on the website and can be found at:
	http://www.qca.org.uk/secondarycurriculumreview/
	An extract has been placed in the House Library.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Horses: Databases

Ann Widdecombe: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether he expects  (a) the information from the National Equine Database to be available to members of the public and  (b) members of the public to be able to retrieve (i) statistics on the number of racehorses slaughtered each year, (ii) the ages of racehorses at the time of slaughter and (iii) the reasons for the slaughter of racehorses.

Barry Gardiner: The National Equine Database (NED) was developed to hold centrally the information confined in horse passports. This is to prevent theft and aid the early recovery of horses and, in terms of veterinary surveillance, help control equine disease outbreaks.
	The NED system has been enhanced to hold pedigree, performance, evaluation and grading information on each horse born or resident in the UK with a passport. The enhanced system will be called NED Online and will be available for the public to use. Some of the information will be free and some will be available for a fee, although horse owner names and addresses are confidential to the Government. Currently, when a horse is slaughtered, basic equine identification information is collected including the passport issuing body (for racehorses this would be Weatherbys) and submitted to NED. However, not all horses with a Weatherbys passport race.
	As NED Online develops, its facilities will continue to improve in line with users' requirements. However, there are no plans as yet to enable members of the public to retrieve details of slaughtered racehorses.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bangladesh

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received of recent attacks by Muslim extremists against the judiciary in Bangladesh.

Kim Howells: We are aware of reports that the prosecutor in the trial of leading militants has been shot. However, no individual has been charged and we are not aware of any militant organisation having claimed responsibility.

Chad: Peace Keeping Operations

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what response she plans to make to the conclusions of the recent UN mission to the Central African Republic and Chad on the measures needed to bring peace and stability to eastern Chad.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 18 April 2007
	We are very concerned about the humanitarian situation in eastern Chad and the Central African Republic (CAR) and the spill over of violence from Darfur. We take every opportunity to call on the Governments of Chad and Sudan to implement their commitments to respect each other's borders and honour their obligations to protect their citizens.
	On 27 February, Assistant Secretary-General Hedi Annabi briefed the UN Security Council, in closed consultations, on the Secretary-General's recommendations for deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in Chad and CAR following a second Technical Assessment Mission to the two countries.
	The UK will continue to work with the UN and partners on the Security Council to create the necessary conditions for a UN mission to Chad and CAR, as called for under UN Security Council Resolution 1706. On 16 April my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary stated to the Security Council that agreement is needed for a UN peacekeeping operation in Chad.

EC External Trade

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations she has  (a) made to the EU and  (b) received on the negotiations on economic partnership agreements with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

Geoff Hoon: The Government are working closely with the European Commission who are negotiating economic partnership agreements on behalf of the EU, EU member states and African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries. They listen carefully to the views of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) while doing so to ensure that these agreements are truly development-focused and designed to deliver long-term development, economic growth and poverty reduction in ACP countries.
	The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is leading the UK representation on these negotiations supported in its work by the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).
	Recent representations:
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development met with ACP Ministers and negotiators in November 2006.
	My right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade met NGOs on 11 January. He and my hon. Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for International Development, meet with them three to four times a year.
	As part of the Trade Policy Consultative Forum my right hon. Friend the Minister for Trade meets quarterly with NGOs and the business community to discuss a variety of trade policy issuesEconomic Partnership Agreements (EPAs) usually feature on the agenda; the next meeting will be in May.
	DTI and DFID officials met with Richard Bernal, Caribbean negotiator, on 14 March.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for International Development met with ACP and EU Ministers in Bonn on 1 March at the EU-ACP Joint Ministerial Trade Committee.
	DTI officials met with Peter Thompson, Director-General Trade in charge of EPAs on 26 March.
	UK officials have discussions with the Commission and other EU member states on a daily basis/at/around ACP and 133 meetings and in the margins.
	Also, UK officials meet with officials from other member states on a quarterly basis.
	DTI, DFID and FCO officials met with NGOs on 17 April.

Honours

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if she will list the individuals who are not UK citizens who were awarded honours in the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007, indicating in each case the  (a) date of announcement,  (b) honour in question and  (c) reason for the award.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 16 April 2007
	As the information requested is lengthy, I will arrange for it to be placed in the Library of the House and will arrange for a copy to be sent directly to the hon. Member.
	As honorary awards to citizens of countries where Her Majesty the Queen is not Head of State are not formally announced, the date of the Queen's formal approval of such awards has been given.

Maldives: Politics and Government

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports she has received on the recent police beatings of the chairman of the Maldivian Democratic Party and the political situation in the Maldives; and if she will make a statement.

Kim Howells: Our high commission in Colombo, also accredited to Maldives, has been in regular contact with the Maldivian Government and with officials of Maldivian Democratic Party about the arrest and treatment of Mohammed Nasheed. Mr. Nasheed has now been released. We have made clear to the Government that any allegations against the police should be investigated fully and transparently. Law enforcement agencies should abide by the rule of law and any measures to maintain law and order should be proportionate.
	The recent collapse of the inter-party talks in Maldives was a setback for the reform agenda. Our high commissioner in Colombo has urged the parties to resume formal talks as soon as possible and to work together constructively to accelerate the implementation of the Roadmap for Reform Agenda.

Sudan: Peace Keeping Operations

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further measures she plans to support at the UN and within the EU in order to put pressure on Sudan to abide by its agreements and accept the hybrid AU-UN peacekeeping force.

Ian McCartney: holding answer 18 April 2007
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary chaired a meeting of the UN Security Council on 16 April to take stock of recent international efforts on Darfur, and to make the case for further measures to pressure the Government of Sudan and rebel movements to abide by their agreements. During that meeting she welcomed the announcement by the Government of Sudan the same day accepting deployment of a heavy support package, and called on them to accept the rapid deployment of a full African Union-UN hybrid force, as well as an immediate ceasefire and a resumption of the political process. If they do not, we will be forced to press for tougher measures, including further targeted sanctions and an expansion of the arms embargo.
	Following UK lobbying, the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council adopted strong conclusions in January and in March on the need for Sudan to abide by its international obligations. My right hon. Friend the Prime Minister wrote to Chancellor Merkel on 21 March to reiterate this ahead of the 25 March European Council. We continue to press the EU to maintain this position.

HEALTH

Carers

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department has taken to provide respite support for carers as referred to in paragraph 5.55 of the Our Health, Our Care, Our Say health White Paper.

Ivan Lewis: We plan to issue guidance to local authorities in the summer of 2007 to help them design services based on principles that reflect best practice in the provision of planned emergency cover. We are making 25 million available to support implementation of the guidance from October 2007. The funds are additional to the 185 million carers' grant which helps local authorities support carers through the provision of much needed breaks. The new money is intended to ensure that cover is available in the event of a crisis or an emergency.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate has been made of the number of people diagnosed with bowel cancer as a result of participating in the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 April 2007
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave the hon. Member for Billericay (Mr. Baron) on 22 March,  Official Report, column. 1128W. These are the latest available figures.

Colorectal Cancer: Screening

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment has been made of the demand for FOB testing kits outside the 60 to 69 age range for the NHS Bowel Cancer Screening Programme.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 April 2007
	3,383 men and women aged 70 and over had opted in to the NHS bowel cancer screening programme as at 23 March 2007.

Dental Services: Birmingham

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions patients who met current acceptance criteria for restorative dentistry at Birmingham Dental Hospital have not been given a referral on the ground that there was not the capacity within the NHS waiting list target times for the patient to be seen.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 April 2007
	The information requested is not centrally collected. However, the Department has made it clear that clinical priority must be the main determinant of when patients are treated.

Dental Services: Children

Bob Laxton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children received orthodontic treatment in each year between 2002 and 2006; and how many have received such treatment in 2006-07.

Rosie Winterton: Information is provided for the years ending March 2002 to March 2006. Information for the year ending March 2007 is not yet available.
	
		
			  Number of children receiving national health service general dental services (GDS) and personal dental services (PDS) orthodontic treatment ,  England only ,  April 2001 to March 2006 
			  Year ending  March  Number of children treated 
			 2002 524,205 
			 2003 523,422 
			 2004 552,332 
			 2005 573,109 
			 2006 591,064 
			  Notes: 1. Data are for claims scheduled for the financial years ending March 2002 to March 2006 in both GDS and PDS.  2. The number of children treated is based on the claims containing at least one orthodontic treatment which were processed at the DPD during the year stated.  3. The claims for orthodontic treatment may have been for a transitional payment, complete treatment or incomplete treatment.  4. Orthodontic treatment is as defined under items 32, 55e and 55f of the statement of dental remuneration.  5. Children are defined as patients under 18 on the date of acceptance for treatment.  6. Patients have been identified by using surname, first initial, gender and date of birth.  7. England data are for both GDS and PDS.  8. Because of the transition arrangements from GDS to PDS, patients may have been double counted. For orthodontic cases, which have long durations, this could be a serious distortion.   Source:  NHS Business Services Authority Dental Practice Division.

Dental Services: Northamptonshire

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residents in Northamptonshire were registered with an NHS dentist  (a) in April 2006 and  (b) in the most recent month for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 April 2007
	The information requested is not held in the format required.
	Registration data no longer form part of the data available under the new national health service dental contract; the new measure is patients seen within the last 24 months and is available at primary care trust level. In response to part  (a), data are available as at 31 March 2006. In response to part  (b) the latest data available are as at 31 December 2006.
	Both datasets can be found in annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England quarter 3: 31 December 2006 report, which is available in the Library and is available at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental06q3

Dental Services: Northamptonshire

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residents in  (a) Kettering,  (b) Wellingborough,  (c) Corby,  (d) Northampton South,  (e) Northampton North and  (f) Daventry constituency were registered with an NHS dentist (i) in each year since 1997 and (ii) in the latest month in the most recent year for which figures are available.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 April 2007
	Constituency level registration data from 31 March 1997 to 31 March 2006 are contained in annex C of NHS Dental Activity and Workforce Report England: 31 March 2006 which is available in the Library and also at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dwfactivity.
	Registration data no longer form part of the data available under the new national health service dental contract; the new measure is patients seen within the last 24 months and is available at primary care trust level. This latest data available are as at 31 December 2006. This information is contained in annex 3 of the NHS Dental Statistics for England Quarter 3: 31 December 2006 report, which is available in the Library and also at www.ic.nhs.uk/pubs/dental06q3.
	Constituency level data are no longer available and could be produced only at disproportionate cost.

Dental Services: Reform

Richard Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish the report of the Implementation Review Group on the first 12 months of the NHS dental reforms.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 April 2007
	The Department plans to publish a report on the first 12 months of the reforms once we have full year data. The first year data are likely to be available in June. The report will take into account the main issues discussed by the Implementation Review Group so far.

Departments: Publications

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost was of publishing the Partnership Agreement - An agreement between Department of Health, NHS Employers and NHS Trade Unions published on 28 February.

Rosie Winterton: The total cost of publishing the Partnership Agreement - An agreement between Department of Health, NHS Employers and NHS Trade Unions, published on 28 February, was 1,464.00 plus VAT.

Departments: Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in her Department who participated in  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in each year since 1997-98 were paid between (i) 0 to 25,000, (ii) 25,001 to 50,000, (iii) 50,001 to 75,000, (iv) 75,001 to 100,000 and (v) over 100,000; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: For the period prior to the financial year 2005-06, data could be established only at disproportionate cost. A breakdown of sums paid in financial years 2005-06 and 2006-07, specific to the Department, is given in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number of 2006-07 leavers 
			   Compulsory  Voluntary 
			 0-25,000 1 16 
			 25,001-50,000 1 2 
			 50,001-75,000 1 2 
			 75,001-100,000 0 2 
			 100,001 and over 5 9 
			 Total number 8 31 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of 2005-06 leavers 
			   Compulsory  Voluntary 
			 0-25,000 0 2 
			 25,001-50,000 1 2 
			 50,001-75,000 1 4 
			 75,001-100,000 0 2 
			 100,001 and over 6 15 
			 Total number 8 25

Doctors: Conditions of Employment

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on what date she expects the new contract for staff and associate specialist doctors to be implemented.

Andy Burnham: NHS Employers and the British Medical Association have submitted proposals to the Government on a new contract for staff grade and associate specialist doctors. In line with the arrangements for all public sector pay proposals, those proposals are currently under consideration by the Public Sector Pay Committee of the Cabinet Office.

Drugs: Prison

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to her predecessor's statement of 28 September 2004 on the integrated drug treatment scheme for prisons, what funding has been spent in each year since the annual 40 million budget was announced; how many and what percentage of prisoners have received drug treatment via the programme; and whether the March 2008 target for allocating effective treatment services will be met.

Caroline Flint: p ursuant to the reply , 22 March 2007, Official Report, c. 1131W
	Implementation of the integrated drug treatment system (IDTS) commenced in 2006.
	The current year's investment in IDTS totals 17 million. This comprises 12 million from the Department and 5 million from the Home Office. This will fund IDTS implementation in 45 prisons, allowing some 24,000 prisoners to receive treatment via the programme by March 2008.

Health Professions: Training

David Hamilton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many medical staff in the English NHS received all or part of their medical training in Scotland.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Health Services: Cornwall

Daniel Rogerson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions she has had with Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust on future provision of health services for families with under fives previously provided through Surestart funding.

Andy Burnham: This is a matter for the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust (PCT) which has been working productively over the past year with the Cornwall county council's children's services to ensure that there has been no reduction in service delivery and that there is now a focus on the modernisation of service delivery.
	NHS South West confirms that Sure Start funding has enhanced the partnership working at the frontline of service delivery in Cornwall, providing a joint agency contribution to delivering the five Every Child Matters outcomes. The PCT continues to work in partnership with the county council to address the multi-disciplinary needs of children who have used these services in the past and aims to deliver equitable and sustainable services across the whole of the county.
	I understand that a review of children's health services will be announced at the primary care trust board meeting on 30 April 2007 and the hon. Member may wish to engage with the PCT for further information on this matter.

Health Services: Public Appointments

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many directors of public health were medically qualified in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Hospital Wards: Closures

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many isolation units were closed in each of the last three years; in which hospitals; what the extent was of the consultation procedure prior to closure in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Information on the number and use of isolation units is not collected centrally.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2007,  Official Report, columns 438-40W, on hospitals: waiting lists, what percentage of those waiting for  (a) out-patient appointments waited longer than 11 weeks,  (b) diagnostic tests waited longer than 13 weeks and  (c) in-patient appointments waited longer than 20 weeks in the most recent period for which figures are available; and when her Department expects to receive data relating to March 2007.

Andy Burnham: At the end of February 2007, 1.8 per cent. of patients waiting for a first out-patient appointment had been waiting longer than 11 weeks; 5.5 per cent. of patients waiting for an in-patient admission had been waiting longer than 20 weeks; and 19.3 per cent. of patients waiting for one of the 15 key diagnostic tests on which monthly data are collected had been waiting more than 13 weeks.
	Of the over-13-week diagnostic waits, 62 per cent. were for audiology assessments. Plans to address this were published on 6 March in Improving Access to Audiology Services in England.
	March 2007 in-patient and out-patient data will be published on 4 May 2007. March diagnostic data for the 15 key tests will be published on 16 May 2007. The March census of diagnostic waits, which covers other long wait tests, will be published in July.

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were waiting for inpatient treatment as given by the commissioner-based waiting list in each year since March 1994 until the most recent period for which figures are available; and how many patients were waiting  (a) over three months,  (b) over six months,  (c) over nine months and  (d) over 12 months in each period.

Andy Burnham: The figures are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Commissioner based in-patient waiting time information, March 1994 to February 2007 
			  Month end March:  Total number waiting  Number waiting over 13 weeks (3 months)  Number waiting over 26 weeks (6 months)  Number waiting over 9 months  Number waiting over 12 months 
			 1994 837,907 439,537 244,479 124,133 52,520 
			 1995 762,180 366,430 182,595 79,022 25,571 
			 1996 1,017,304 458,760 203,235 68,263 3,602 
			 1997 1,131,201 570,237 283,866 118,915 30,245 
			 1998 1,276,965 682,512 377,164 185,102 67,177 
			 1999 1,060,356 524,312 276,752 131,242 46,752 
			 2000 1,024,654 507,104 264,370 126,388 48,145 
			 2001 995,123 480,347 242,953 113,143 41,461 
			 2002 1,021,604 497,015 238,091 96,628 21,869 
			 2003 975,338 443,000 189,054 53,183 103 
			 2004 890,205 323,510 80,125 223 67 
			 2005 808,810 259,250 40,843 78 29 
			 2006 771,123 190,956 222 35 15 
			 February 2007 725,928 166,581 378 n/a n/a 
			  Notes:  Data from April 2006 collected in weekly timebands with 13 weeks corresponding to 3 months and 26 weeks corresponding to 6 months. Data no longer collected on the numbers waiting over 9 or 12 months.  Source: Department of Health QF01 and Monthly Monitoring

Hospitals: Waiting Lists

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of patients on inpatient waiting lists were seen within six months in each year since 1990, as given by  (a) the Hospital Episodes Statistics database and  (b) Korner data.

Andy Burnham: The figures are shown in the table.
	It should be noted that Korner data measures the numbers still waiting at the end of a period, while Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) measures the time waited for patients admitted during a year. HES figures do not take into account periods of suspension for medical and social reasons.
	The table shows that 90 per cent. of patients admitted during the financial year 2005-06 had waited under six months. The six-month standard was in place from the end of December 2005, and therefore the HES figures for 2005-06 only reflect only one quarter where the standard was in place.
	
		
			  Percentage of waits under 6 months, 1990 to 2007Official waiting times data (Korner)Hospital Episode Statistics 
			  Month end:  Percentage on list who were waiting under 6 months  Financial year  Percentage of patients treated in under 6 months 
			 1990(1) 58 1989-90 n/a 
			 1991(1) 61 1990-91 86 
			 1992(1) 70 1991-92 84 
			 1993(1) 72 1992-93 85 
			 1994 71 1993-94 85 
			 1995 76 1994-95 84 
			 1996 80 1995-96 85 
			 1997 75 1996-97 86 
			 1998 70 1997-98 85 
			 1999 74 1998-99 82 
			 2000 74 1999-2000 85 
			 2001 76 2000-01 84 
			 2002 77 2001-02 83 
			 2003 81 2002-03 82 
			 2004 91 2003-04 82 
			 2005 95 2004-05 87 
			 2006 100 2005-06 90 
			 February 2007(2) 100 2006-07 n/a 
			 (1) All Korner figures from 1994 onwards are commissioner based. All HES figures are provider based. (2) From April 2006, data collected in weeks, and therefore figures for February 2007 reflect waits under 26 weeks.  Source: Department of Health, QF01, KH07 returns Hospital Episode Statistics, The Information Centre for health and social care.

Influenza

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 17 July 2006,  Official Report, columns 244-5W, on avian influenza, what information her Department holds on  (a) the fatality rates for the pandemic influenza outbreaks of (i) 1918-19 (H1N1), (ii) 1957 (N2N2) and (iii) 1968 (H3N2) and  (b) the equivalent fatality rates amongst humans catching animal variations of each virus.

Rosie Winterton: holding answer 16 April 2007
	Contemporary Ministry of Health estimates of deaths in England and Wales were 200,000 for 1918-19 and 30,000 for 1957. Contemporary estimates for the 1969-70 pandemic are around 80,000. The fatality rates for humans catching the animal variations of each virus is not known.

Influenza

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what exercises were conducted to test the UK's preparedness for an outbreak of pandemic flu; when each was conducted; and if she will place in the Library the evaluations of these exercises.

Rosie Winterton: The Department funds the Health Protection Agency (HPA) to undertake regional and national exercises to prepare the health community in England to respond to an influenza pandemic.
	 Local and regional exercises
	1. 23 June 2005Exercise Arctic Sea
	2. 21 September 2005Exercise Aurora
	3. 28 October 2005Exercise New Day
	4. 8 January 2007Exercise Athena
	 National exercises
	5. 14 and 15 June 2006Exercise Shared Goal
	6. 1-2 to 30 January and 19 and 20 February 2007Exercise Winter Willow
	 European Union exercise
	1. 23-24 November 2005Exercise Common Ground
	The reports for Exercise New Day, Exercise Aurora and Exercise Arctic Sea have been placed in the Library and are also available on the HPA website at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/hpa/erd/erd_exercises.htm
	The report on Exercise Athena will be published later in the year, and copies will be placed in the Library when available.
	Exercise Common Ground, a European Commission (EC) commissioned and HPA-run influenza pandemic exercise, was undertaken with participants that included the EC and European Union member states. The final report is on DG-SANCO of the European Commission website at:
	ec.europa.eu/health/ph_threats/com/common.pdf
	Evaluation reports for national exercises, such as Exercise Shared Goal and Exercise Winter Willow, are not formally published. However, the lessons identified through national exercises are taken forward and inform national policy where appropriate through TIDO (Prepare), the official committee on resilience.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's central planning assumption is for the  (a) clinical attack rate and  (b) case mortality rate in an outbreak of pandemic influenza.

Rosie Winterton: The Government's current planning assumptions are based on a range of possible clinical attack rates of between 25-50 per cent. and overall case fatality rates of 0.4-2.5 per cent.

Junior Doctors: Recruitment

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what checks are performed on qualifications claimed by applicants under the new procedures for junior doctor hospital appointments.

Rosie Winterton: Applicants are expected to bring with them to interview and assessments for specialty registrar programmes, evidence of the qualifications required, as outlined in the relevant person specification. The evidence required and the application process has been designed in accordance with the requirements of the post-graduate medical education training board.

Junior Doctors: Recruitment

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what system of accountability is in place for the Modernising Medical Careers programme for junior doctors.

Rosie Winterton: The four United Kingdom Health Departments are responsible for the overall implementation of Modernising Medical Careers. The Health Departments co-ordinate action through a United Kingdom Modernising Medical Careers Strategy Group which includes members from the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, the General Medical Council, the Postgraduate Medical Education and Training Board (PMETB) and national health service employers. Each country also has a dedicated implementation team.
	The Royal Colleges are directly responsible for developing the new competency-based curricula which are approved by PMETB. The Royal Colleges also work closely with postgraduate deans over the development of person specifications for the recruitment process and the postgraduate deans themselves oversee selection into posts.
	The number of training opportunities available in 2007 was based on local discussions between local NHS employers, strategic health authorities and postgraduate deans.

Kidney Patients: East Sussex

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex were on the waiting list for treatment for dialysis services in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally. There is no specific waiting list for dialysis. Dialysis is often an emergency treatment and patients with no kidney function will die in a matter of weeks if they do not receive dialysis. For patients whose disease has been identified well in advance of end-stage renal failure, dialysis begins at a time when the individual and his or her consultant feel it is appropriate. Part one of the national service framework for renal services recommends starting to prepare people for dialysis about a year before it will be needed, as such preparation leads to better outcomes for the patient.

Maternal Mortality

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will conduct an inquiry into maternal deaths as a contemporary successor to Why Mothers Die 1997-1999: The Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in the United Kingdom; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department continues to fund and recognise the work of the confidential enquiries into maternal deaths and the next Why Mothers Die report, covering the three-year period from 2003-05, is due out in December this year.

Maternity Services: Expenditure

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total expenditure by her Department on neonatal care services including staff costs but excluding National Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group-funded services was in each of the last five years.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not available in the format requested.
	Estimates of total expenditure on neonatal care services for the last three financial years are available from the programme budgeting returns and are as shown.
	These data cover all primary, secondary and community expenditure. It is not possible to split the expenditure to exclude information on a National Specialist Commissioning Advisory Group.
	
		
			   Gross expenditure (000) 
			 2003-04 655,015 
			 2004-05 811,215 
			 2005-06 786,390 
			  Source: PFR4 DH Annual Accounting Forms

Medicine: Students

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on the Medical Training Application Service.

Rosie Winterton: The cost for the Medical Training Application Service in 2006-07 is 1.75 million, funded proportionately by all four United Kingdom Health Departments.

Mental Health Services: Buckinghamshire

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people treated by a mental health trust responsible for Buckinghamshire were  (a) moved from an enhanced care plan approach to a standard care plan approach and  (b) discharged from either an enhanced care plan approach or a standard care plan approach in each year since 2001.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not held centrally. The Department is currently undertaking a review of the care programme approach to provide patients with greater control and care tailored to their individual needs. A public consultation was held from 14 November 2006 to 19 February 2007 and further guidance will be issued in due course.

Mentally Ill: Cannabis

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many people were treated for cannabis-induced psychosis in each of the last five years; and how many were under 18 years old;
	(2)  what treatments are available for people suffering from cannabis-induced psychosis.

Rosie Winterton: Information about the number of finished consultant episodes in patients with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorder due to the use of cannabinoids and which has resulted in a psychotic disorder, or a resident or late-onset psychotic disorder is shown in the table. The data do not include those patients seen in primary care.
	Data are collected by gender and in the age ranges 0 to 14 years, 15 to 59 years, 60 to 74 years and 75 years and over, but are not available prior to 2002-03. Separate data relating to people under 18-years-old and who were treated for cannabis-induced psychosis are not available.
	
		
			  Number of finished consultant episodes in patients with a primary diagnosis of mental and behavioural disorder following cannabinoid use, resulting in psychotic disorder and resident and late-onset disorder, in the national health service in England, 2002-03 to 2005-06 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			  Age  Psychotic disorder  Resident and late-onset psychotic disorder  Psychotic disorder  Resident and late-onset psychotic disorder  Psychotic disorder  Resident and late-onset psychotic disorder  Psychotic disorder  Resident and late-onset psychotic disorder 
			  Male 
			 0-14 1 0 2 0 3 0 1 0 
			 15-59 304 3 336 3 331 2 393 3 
			 60-74 0 0 0 0 3 0 1 0 
			 75+ 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Male total for year 305 3 339 3 337 2 395 3 
			  
			  Female 
			 0-14 1 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 
			 15-59 64 0 87 0 68 1 92 1 
			 60-74 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 75+ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Female total for year 67 0 87 0 68 1 94 2 
			  
			 Male and female total for year 372 3 426 3 405 3 489 5 
			  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics 
		
	
	Since a large number of drug users may be using more than one drug, treatments are generally user-specific rather than drug-specific. Treatments provided for cannabis-induced psychosis can include help with stopping or reducing cannabis use, including specialist services where cannabis addiction may be present, anti-psychotic treatment as appropriate and support in understanding the harmful effects of cannabis.
	The Department has also distributed a cannabis toolkit for service users and healthcare professionals, to help to reduce and stop the use of cannabis. However, decisions about the development of drug treatment services are the responsibility of local commissioners who are best placed to assess the needs of their local population.

Midwives: Lancashire

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many midwives were employed in hospitals in Lancashire in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is shown in the table.
	
		
			  National health service hospital and community health services: Qualified midwifery staff in each specified organisation as at 30 September 
			  H eadcount 
			2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust RVY 127 113 116 116 129 
			 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust(1) RTX 159 159 149 356 177 
			 Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care(3) RMB 167 168 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Blackpool Victoria(2) RMR 176 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust(2) RXL n/a 150 131 126 125 
			 Burnley Healthcare NHS Trust(3) REU 106 109 n/a n/a n/a 
			 Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust(4) RJU 37 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust(3) RXR n/a n/a 283 303 316 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust(4) RXN n/a 194 149 177 186 
			 Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust(4) RMF 165 n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 n/a = Not applicable (1) In 2004 Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS submitted an incorrect bank nursing return. The Trust alerted us to this several months after the publication of the Census, by which time it was too late to amend the results. Nursing figures from this Trust for 2004 are inaccurate. (2.) Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Trust was formed in April 2002 from a merger of Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Community Health Services NHS Trust and Blackpool Victoria Hospital NHS Trust. (3) East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust was formed in April 2003 from a merger of Burnley Health Care NHS Trust and Blackburn, Hyndburn and Ribble Valley Health Care NHS Trust. (4) Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust was formed in August 2002 from a merger of Chorley and South Ribble NHS Trust and Preston Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.  Source:  The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census.

NHS: Crime of Violence

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many physical attacks there were on NHS staff in each year between 1997 and 2006 in each strategic health authority.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested has not been collated centrally for the period 1997-2004.
	A table outlining the estimated number of reported violent and abusive incidents collected by the Department for 2000-01, 2001-02, 2002-03 for each strategic health authority (SHA) in England is available in the Library.
	In April 2003 the NHS Security Management Service (NHS SMS) was created and assumed responsibility for the issue of tackling violence against NHS staff. The NHS SMS has collected data on the actual number of reported physical assaults on NHS staff in England 2004-05 and 2005-06.
	A breakdown of the figures for each SHA, for the 2004-2006 reporting periods, is provided in the table shown.
	
		
			   Physical assaults 
			  SHA name  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire 2,342 2,508 
			 Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire 1,206 2,104 
			 Essex 1,286 1,142 
			 North West London 1,321 1,293 
			 North Central London 1,249 1,017 
			 North East London 1,162 883 
			 South East London 1,459 1,673 
			 South West London 819 841 
			 Northumberland, Tyne and Wear 4,043 3,551 
			 County Durham and Tees Valley 3,333 1,787 
			 North and East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire 1,345 1,347 
			 West Yorkshire 4,796 3,683 
			 Cumbria and Lancashire 2,989 2,534 
			 Greater Manchester 2,481 2,119 
			 Cheshire and Merseyside 2,389 2,567 
			 Thames Valley 1,639 1,600 
			 Hampshire and Isle of Wight 1,724 1,882 
			 Kent and Medway 2,407 2,120 
			 Surrey and Sussex 1,821 1,507 
			 Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire 2,900 2,863 
			 South West Peninsula 895 1,418 
			 Dorset and Somerset 1,504 1,800 
			 South Yorkshire 2,272 2,310 
			 Trent 3,664 3,612 
			 Leicestershire, Northamptonshire and Rutland 1,665 2,247 
			 Shropshire and Staffordshire 2,440 2,669 
			 Birmingham and The Black Country 2,952 2,761 
			 West Midlands South 2,277 2,857 
			 Total 60,380 58,695

NHS: Equal Pay

Alistair Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate of cost over and above current provision she has made of the impact of the Equal Pay Act 1970 on individual  (a) primary care trusts and  (b) NHS trusts in the Eastern Region; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: There are around 120 equal pay claims outstanding against national health service organisations in the East of England strategic health authority area. It is not possible to estimate what, if any, additional cost will arise from these claims as there are a number of significant legal issues which need to be resolved before liability can be assessed.

Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking  (a) to safeguard the future of Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust at Headington, Oxford and  (b) to ensure that provisions for local services and specialist work can be maintained in the area.

Rosie Winterton: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities (SHAs) to analyse their local situation and develop plans, in liaison with their local national health service trusts and primary care providers, to deliver high quality NHS services including orthopaedic services while maintaining financial balance. The Department is working with the Specialist Orthopaedic Alliance, specialist orthopaedic hospitals and their host SHA to reach a long-term sustainable solution to rewarding the work of specialist orthopaedic hospitals through payment by results.

Nurses: Schools

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many school nurses there were in  (a) England and  (b) each region of England in each of the last 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: The number of school nurses employed in each health region is shown in the table. School nurses have only been separately identified in the national health service workforce census since 2004.
	
		
			  NHS hospital and community health services: qualified nurses in the school nursing area of work in England by strategic health authority area as at 30 September each specified year 
			  Headcount 
			   2004  2005 
			   Total qualified nurses in the school nursing area of work  Of which: qualified school nurses( 1)  Total qualified nurses in the school nursing area of work  Of which: qualified school nurses( 1) 
			 England 2,409 856 2,887 943 
			  
			 North East Strategic Health Authority (SHA) area 145 64 164 61 
			 North West SHA area 468 157 471 192 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber SHA area 303 115 402 132 
			 East Midlands SHA area 230 38 255 34 
			 West Midlands SHA area 185 110 264 110 
			 East of England SHA area 186 71 287 50 
			 London SHA area 363 131 471 168 
			 South East Coast SHA area 180 82 203 97 
			 South Central SHA area 111 45 117 33 
			 South West SHA area 238 43 253 66 
			 (1) Qualified school nurses hold the National Midwifery Council (NMC) Specialist Practice Qualification with an outcome in school nursing, which is a recordable qualification on the NMC register. School nurses have only been collected from 2004 as a separate category.  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care non-medical workforce census.

Nurses: Training

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many students qualified to become nurses in each of the last five years; and how many vacancies for nurses there were during that period.

Rosie Winterton: The Department has not collected information centrally on the number of students who qualified to become nurses over the last five years.
	The following table shows the number of vacancies for nurses which trusts are actively trying to fill, which had lasted for three months or more (full time equivalents) at 31 March of each year for the last five years.
	
		
			  Total qualified nursing three month vacancies 
			   Number 
			 2002 8,390 
			 2003 7,967 
			 2004 7,508 
			 2005 5,801 
			 2006 2,884 
			  Source: National Health Service vacancy survey as at 31 March each year

Occupational Health: Manpower

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) occupational physicians and  (b) occupational health nurses were employed in the NHS in each year since 1997.

Rosie Winterton: The latest available data on the number of doctors in occupational medicine in each year since 1997 are shown in the table.
	
		
			  Hospital and Community Health Services (HCHS): medical and dental staff working in occupational health by grade and yearEngland as at 30 September each year 
			  Number (headcount) 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 England 178 191 185 192 221 218 231 212 209 
			 Consultant 63 65 65 70 80 76 85 87 96 
			 Associate Specialist 2 6 4 4 4 8 6 6 9 
			 Staff Grade 2 1 1 7 5 2 3 6 2 
			 Registrar Group 20 24 33 30 43 46 46 45 47 
			 Senior House Officer 0 0 1 0 0 0 2 2 0 
			 House Officer 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Hospital Practitioner/Clinical Assistant 89 94 80 81 76 67 69 49 40 
			 Other 2 1 1 0 13 19 20 17 14 
			  Source: The Information Centre for health and social care medical and dental workforce census 
		
	
	The annual national health service workforce census does not separately identify occupational health nurses from the rest of the nursing workforce.

Occupational Therapy

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of how NHS-employed occupational therapists engage with home improvement agencies.

Rosie Winterton: No assessment has been carried out centrally. It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders to assess the needs of their local communities and to commission services accordingly.

Osteosarcoma

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the incidence was of osteosarcoma for each of the age groups  (a) 0 to nine years,  (b) 10 to 19 years and  (c) 20 to 49 years in areas of the United Kingdom supplied with (i) fluoridated and (ii) non-fluoridated drinking water.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is provided in the following table.
	
		
			  Osteosarcoma( 1)  in England: Number of new cases, 1995-2004, persons by selected age groups and Government office region 
			   Age group  Percentage of fluoridated water 
			   0-9  10-19  20-49  
			 England 86 462 330  
			  
			  Government office regions 
			 North East 4 30 23 34.8 
			 North West 10 75 45 3.8 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 8 45 33 2.6 
			 East Midlands 12 41 29 13.8 
			 West Midlands 10 49 39 70.2 
			 East of England 7 49 26  
			  
			 London 15 69 60  
			 South East 14 64 43  
			 South West 6 40 32  
			 (1)International Classification of Diseases, histology codes 9180, 9181, 9182, 9183, 9184, 9185, 9190. Behaviour code 3.   Source:  Office for National Statistics.

Procurement Projects

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the 20 largest procurement projects initiated by her Department since May 1997 have been; what the  (a) original budget,  (b) cost to date and  (c) consultancy fees have been; and what the final cost was of each project which has been completed.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not collected in the form requested. However, the Department does have details of the 20 largest private finance initiative and information technology (IT) procurement projects since 1997. For the national programme for IT the lifetime contract value is 6,202.5 million and the expenditure up to 31 December 2006 was 1,001.5 million.
	The following table provides details of the 19 largest private finance initiative (PFI) projects.
	
		
			  Commissioning body  Operational status( 1)  Total capital value ( million)  Estimated total unitary payments to end of contract (000)  Consultancy fees (000)  Hard facilities management (FM) only( 2) 
			 Barts and the London NHS Trust Under construction 1,000 5,071.9   
			 University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust Under construction 627 2,549.4  Y 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Trust Open 422 2,014.2   
			 Central Manchester and Manchester Children's University Hospitals NHS Trust Under construction 420 3,224.5 16,196  
			 University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust Open 379 3,090.0 4,775  
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust In procurement 343
			 St Helens and Knowsley Hospitals NHS Trust Under construction 338 1,747.6   
			 Derby Hospitals NHS Trust Under construction 312 2,172.4 6,712  
			 Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust Under construction 299 1,132.8 5,962 Y 
			 Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Trust Under construction 296 1,746.7   
			 Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Trust In procurement 282
			 University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust In procurement 272
			 Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust Under construction 265 891.4 5,138 Y 
			 Barking, Havering and Redbridge NHS Trust Open 238 1,675.6 7,610  
			 Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust In procurement 225
			 Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust Under construction 193 1,654.9   
			 Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust In procurement 190
			 Norfolk and Norwich Health Care NHS Trust Open 158 1,726.2 3,497  
			 (1) Unitary payments only start once the facility is operational. (2) Most schemes involve the private sector contractor providing both soft (cleaning, catering etc) and hard (building maintenance) FM services over the lifetime of the contract. Those marked as hard FM only in this column subsequently have lower unitary payments.  Notes: 1. The figures for the unitary payments in column 4 are expressed in nominal termsi.e. the Department has applied a deflator (RPIthe one normally used in contracts) to the baseline figure submitted to it by the Trust or PCT concerned. Figures will therefore vary as a result of changes to RPI. 2.( )Unitary payments may fluctuate both up and down as a result of adjustments made relating to the performance of the contractor, additional services requested by the trust and the effect of refinancing. 3.( )For all schemes the contract length is assumed to be 30 years, the standard length introduced under the Standard Form Contract in 1999. 4.( )Consultancy Fees: Information on consultancy fees incurred in reaching financial close (i.e. construction in the table) was centrally collected for monitoring purposes for the majority of PFI schemes up to 2005. To collect information on the remaining schemes would incur disproportionate costs. 5.( )The Department submits details on original budgets and cost increases for PFI schemes each year for the Health Select Committee. This information can be found on their website at: www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/health_committee/health_committee_reports_and_publications.cfm

Prostate Cancer

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps are being taken by her Department to raise awareness of prostate cancer.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 23 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1203W.

Prostate Cancer

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in making National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence-approved treatments for prostate cancer available on the NHS.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member for Tyne Bridge (Mr. Clelland) on 29 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1796W.

Prosthetics

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many amputees have used NHS prosthetic limbs in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of waiting times for NHS prosthetic limbs in each of the last 10 years;
	(3)  what provision the NHS makes for therapy and gait training for amputees using prosthetic limbs.

Ivan Lewis: Information about the number of amputees using national health service prosthetic limbs is not collected centrally. There has been no estimate of waiting times for NHS prosthetic limbs made centrally.
	It is for primary care trusts in partnership with local stakeholders to commission services in order to meet local needs. This process provides the means for addressing local needs within the health community including the provision of, and access to, prosthetic services.
	A multidisciplinary team, which may be headed by a rehabilitation consultant and usually including a prosthetist, physiotherapist, occupational therapist, nurse, and in some cases a counsellor, will consider the needs and expectations of the patient and will provide the most appropriate prosthetic limb and suitable training where required.

Ritalin

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people being prescribed methylphenidate drugs have been prescribed those drugs for longer than  (a) two,  (b) five and  (c) 10 years.

Caroline Flint: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Speech Therapy

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) post graduates and  (b) first degree graduates with recognised qualifications in speech and language therapy there were in 2006, broken down by higher education institution; and what proportion in each case are known to have (i) gained and (ii) retained employment in the NHS in speech therapy after graduating.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Speech Therapy

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what estimate her Department has made of the number of language and speech therapists required in England;
	(2)  what her estimate is of the number of speech and language therapists expected to retire in the next 10 years.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not collected centrally on the number of speech and language therapists who are expected to retire in the next 10 years.
	No assessment has been made of the number of speech and language therapists required in England. It is the responsibility of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities with support from the national workforce review team to analyse their local situation, develop plans and take action to recruit the appropriate staff required to deliver high quality speech and language services.
	The workforce review team, an arm's length body hosted by NHS South Central, produces supply estimates (including assumptions about retirement) for professional groups. Its estimates for speech and language therapists is available at:
	www.healthcareworkforce.nhs.uk/index.php?option=com_docmantask=doc_downloadgid=295

Surgical Dressings

Nadine Dorries: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what training has been provided for medical and health care practitioners in the NHS on maggot debridement therapy; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: Post-registration training needs for national health service staff are determined against local NHS priorities, through appraisal processes and training needs analyses informed by local delivery plans and the needs of the service. Because services are delivered at a local level, funding for continuing professional development, including training in new therapies, is included as part of the baseline allocation to strategic health authorities (SHAs). How it is allocated is for individual SHAs to determine locally against their work force planning strategies.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum: Iraq

Neil Gerrard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what monitoring has been put in place since 2004 for failed Iraqi asylum applicants under the UK enforced returns programme upon their return to Iraq.

Liam Byrne: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer of 17 April 2007,  Official Report, column 593W.

Biometrics

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 21 March 2007,  Official Report, column 969W, on biometrics, whether technology is  (a) currently available and  (b) in development to conduct such checks; and if he will make a statement.

John Reid: Technology is available that could attempt to match a facial image against a still image obtained from CCTV footage. However, the results are likely to be variable and would depend on the features of the technology used, the quality of the available images and the number of facial images that a single CCTV image was checked against.

Chlorine: Security

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the implications for public security of arrangements for the use of chlorine; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: We regularly review the implications for public security of arrangements for the use of a variety of substances.

Criminal Justice Act 2003

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what he intends the surcharge provided for in sections 161A and 161B of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 to be used for.

John Reid: In a full year it is expected that the surcharge on fines will raise 16 million.
	Money from the surcharge will be spent on a range of services for victims of crime and witnesses. These include 3 million for witness care units, 3 million for independent domestic violence advisers, and 1.25 million for services to victims of sexual violence through the Victims' Fund. Details of how the rest of the money will be used in support of victims and witnesses will be announced in due course.

Internet: Counterfeit Manufacturing

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many individuals were prosecuted for internet piracy in each of the last five years.

John Reid: Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts for certain offences under Common Law. Criminal Justice Act 1987, Theft Act 1968 added by Theft (Amendment) Act 1996, Computer Misuse Act 1990, Trade Marks Act 1994, Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 as added by Copyright and Related Rights Regulations Reg, and Trade Marks Act 1994, in England and Wales, 2001 to 2005 can be viewed in the attached table.
	Court proceedings data for 2006 will be available in the autumn of 2007.
	
		
			  The number of persons proceeded against at magistrates' courts for certain offences under Common Law. Criminal Justice Act 1987, Theft Act 1968 added by Theft (Amendment) Act 1996, Computer Misuse Act 1990, Trade Marks Act 1994, Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988, Copyright, Designs  Patents Act 1988 as added by Copyright and Related Rights Regulations Reg, and Trade Marks Act 1994, in England and Wales, 2001 to 2005( 1,2) 
			  Statute  Offence description  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Common Law. Criminal Justice Act 1987 Sec.12. Conspiracy to defraud. 1,215 986 1,018 967 955 
			 Theft Act 1968 Sec 15A as added by Theft (Amendment) Act 1996 S.1. Obtaining a money transfer by deception. 434 410 457 442 465 
			 Theft Act 1968 S.24A as added by Theft (Amendment)Act 1996 S.2. Dishonestly retaining a wrongful credit. 90 97 109 138 81 
			 Computer Misuse Act 1990 Sec 2. Unauthorised access with intent to commit or facilitate commission of further offences. 4 6 9 6 11 
			 Computer Misuse Act 1990 Sec 3. Unauthorised modification of computer material. 12 8 3 10 8 
			 Trade Marks Act, 1994 Sec 92 and 94. Unauthorised use of Trade Mark etc in relations to goods. Falsification of Register etc. 410 407 486 598 928 
			 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, Sec. 198 1a, b, d.iii. and Sec. 107 1a,b, d.iv and E. Makes, imports or distributes illicit recordings. Makes for sale or hire, imports possesses or distributes articles which infringes copyright. 57 37 46 65 107 
			 Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 S.107 2A and 4A as added by Copyright and Related Rights Regulations Reg 26 (1) Person infringes copyright in a work by communicating the work to the public. nil nil nil 6 16 
			 Copyright, Designs  Patents Act 1988 S.198 2A and 5A as added by Copyright and Related Rights Regulations Reg 26 (3) Person who infringes a performer's making available right in the course of business/otherwise. nil nil nil 3 2 
			 Computer Misuse Act 1990 Sec.1. Unauthorised access to computer material. 9 4 7 5 5 
			 Trade Marks Act, 1994, Sees 84, 85, 95. Contravention of the Rules prescribing the conditions for person entitled to be registered Trade Mark Agents. Falsely representing trade mark as registered 4 4 2 2 5 
			 Total  2,235 1,959 2,137 2,242 2,583 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform

Life Imprisonment: Prisoner Releases

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offenders convicted of life sentences since  (a) 2000,  (b) 2001 and  (c) 2002 have been released from prison.

John Reid: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the reply of 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 488W. Answering the earlier question of 12 June 2006 referred to involved significant manual checking of records and was integral to informing the need for a data quality review in the Department. Since then the data quality review has begun and as part of that review we are developing a new database that will enable us to collect the data requested centrally. But, at this time to answer the question would involve a disproportionate cost.

Naturalisation Test

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the key aspects of Britishness are which the Life in the UK naturalisation test is testing; and how they were decided upon.

John Reid: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 16 April,  Official Report, column 470W. These aspects were selected in accordance with the advice of the Advisory Board on Naturalisation and Integration.

Offensive Weapons

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of people convicted under section 1 of the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 received a  (a) fine and  (b) custodial sentence in each of the last five years, broken down by age group;
	(2)  how many and what percentage of people convicted of having an article with a blade or point under section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 received  (a) a fine and  (b) a custodial sentence of (i) less than six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) 12 to 18 months, (iv) 18 to 24 months, (v) two to three years and (vi) four years in each year since the Act was introduced;
	(3)  how many and what percentage of people convicted of carrying an offensive weapon under section 139A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 received  (a) a fine and  (b) a custodial sentence of (i) less than six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) 12 to 18 months, (iv) 18 to 24 months, (v) two to three years and (vi) four years in each year since the Act was introduced;
	(4)  how many and what percentage of people convicted of encouraging violent behaviour involving the use of a knife under the Knives Act 1997 received  (a) a fine and  (b) a custodial sentence of (i) less than six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) 12 to 18 months and (iv) 18 to 24 months in each year since the Act was introduced;
	(5)  how many people and what percentage of people convicted of carrying an offensive weapon under section 1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 received  (a) a fine and  (b) a custodial sentence of (i) less than six months, (ii) six to 12 months, (iii) 12 to 18 months, (iv) 18 to 24 months, (v) two to three years and (vi) four years in each of the last 30 years.

John Reid: The information requested is contained in the tables.
	Table 1 shows persons sentenced (all persons sentenced have previously been convicted) under the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 by outcome and age group for the years 2001 to 2005.
	Table 2 shows persons sentenced for the requested offences relating to knives and offensive weapons by outcome and custodial sentence length since the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 amended or added to section 139 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. No persons convicted or sentenced have been notified to the Home Office court proceedings database under section 2(1 )(b) of the Knives Act 1997.
	Information is available only from 1986 to this level of detail for offences under the Prevention of Crime Act 1953.
	Court proceedings statistics for 2006 will be available in the autumn.
	
		
			  Table 1: Persons( 1)  sentenced for offences under the Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act, by age group and outcome, England and Wales 
			  Persons 
			  Fine  Immediate custody  Otherwise dealt with( 2) 
			  Offence  Statute  Year and age group  Total persons sentenced  No.  % of persons sentenced  No.  % of persons sentenced  No.  % of persons sentenced 
			 Making, selling, hiring etc 'flick knife' or 'gravity knife' etc Restriction of Offensive Weapons Act 1959 sec 1 and Criminal Justice Act1988 sec 141 2001
			   Aged 10-17 1 1 100.0 
			   Aged 18-20 1 1 100.0 
			   Aged 21 and over 3   1 33.3 2 66.7 
			   All ages 5   1 20.0 4 80.0 
			   
			   2002
			   Aged 10-17
			   Aged 18-20 2   1 50.0 1 50.0 
			   Aged 21 and over 2 2 100.0 
			   All ages 4   1 25.0 3 75.0 
			   
			   2003
			   Aged 10-17
			   Aged 18-20
			   Aged 21 and over 4 1 25.0 1 25.0 2 50.0 
			   All ages 4 1 25.0 1 25.0 2 50.0 
			   
			   2004
			   Aged 10-17
			   Aged 18-20 1 1 100.0 
			   Aged 21 and over 9 7 77.8   2 22.2 
			   All ages 10 7 70.0   3 30.0 
			   
			   2005
			   Aged 10-17
			   Aged 18-20 1 1 100.0 
			   Aged 21 and over 7 3 42.9   4 57.1 
			   All ages 8 3 37.5   5 62.5 
			 (1) Principal offence basis. (2) Absolute and conditional discharges, community sentences and other miscellaneous disposals. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Persons( 1)  sentenced for various offences connected with knives and offensive weapons, by outcome, including immediate custodial sentence length, England and Wales 
			  Persons 
			Immediate Custody 
			  Fine  Total
			  Offence  Statute  Year  Total persons sentenced  No.  %  of persons sentenced  No.  % of persons sentenced  Less than 6 months  6 months and less than 12 months  12 months and less than 18 months 
			 Having an article with a blade or point in a public place Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec 1 39 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 3 1996 890 448 50.3 56 6.3 52 3  
			   1997 3,341 1,177 35.2 372 11.1 347 15 7 
			   1998 3,788 1,184 31.3 550 14.5 493 46 9 
			   1999 3,548 1,026 28.9 534 15.1 493 34 4 
			   2000 3,518 986 28.0 499 14.2 454 38 7 
			   2001 4,303 1,146 26.6 589 13.7 536 47 3 
			   2002 5,269 1,347 25.6 766 14.5 676 76 7 
			   2003 5,311 1,275 24.0 755 14.2 668 69 13 
			   2004 5,802 1,128 19.4 803 13.8 706 88 6 
			   2005 5,957 951 16.0 965 16.2 850 89 23 
			
			 Having an article with a blade or point on school premises Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec 139A(1) and (5X1) as added by the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 4(1) 1996 12 5 41.7  
			   1997 19 4 21.1 3 15.8 3   
			   1998 16 3 18.8  
			   1999 16 6 37.5 2 12.5 2   
			   2000 44 10 22.7 7 15.9 6   
			   2001 61 18 29.5 3 4.9 1 2  
			   2002 57 9 15.8 7 12.3 7   
			   2003 88 14 15.9 6 6.8 5 1  
			   2004 106 20 18.9 12 11.3 11 1  
			   2005 45 2 4.4 5 11.1 4  1 
			
			 Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse on school premises Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec139A(2) and (5Xb) as added by the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 4(1) 1996 3 2 66.7 1 33.3 1   
			   1997 19 2 10.5 4 21.1 3   
			   1998 20 1 5.0 5 25.0 1 4  
			   1999 20 3 15.0 3 15.0 2   
			   2000 18 0 0.0 6 33.3 4 1  
			   2001 19 2 10.5 3 15.8 3   
			   2002 21 0 0.0 5 23.8 2 3  
			   2003 21 0 0.0 4 19.0 1 1 1 
			   2004 33 1 3.0 4 12.1 2 1 1 
			   2005 30 2 6.7 3 10.0 1 2  
			
			 Publication of any written, pictorial or other material in connection with the marketing of any knifethe material is otherwise likely to stimulate or encourage violent behaviour involving use of a knife as a weapon Knives Act 1997 sec 2(1)(b) 1997 
			   1998 
			   1999 
			   2000 
			   2001 
			   2002 
			   2003 
			   2004 
			   2005 
			
			 Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse Prevention of Crime Act 1953 sec 1 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 2(1) 1986 4,961 2,511 50.6 505 10.2 385 89 15 
			   1987 5,916 3,030 51.2 536 9.1 397 96 29 
			   1988 5,804 2,994 51.6 498 8.6 341 104 43 
			   1989 5,121 2,709 52.9 386 7.5 253 102 21 
			   1990 4,288 2,300 53.6 210 4.9 142 53 10 
			   1991 3,907 1,876 48.0 222 5.7 162 40 11 
			   1992 3,608 1,655 45.9 233 6.5 160 53 16 
			   1993 3,129 1,257 40.2 167 5.3 129 27 5 
			   1994 3,302 1,269 38.4 216 6.5 161 44 7 
			   1995 3,196 1,147 35.9 304 9.5 241 38 16 
			   1996 3,545 1,094 30.9 401 11.3 310 66 17 
			   1997 4,130 1,204 29.2 509 12.3 399 72 22 
			   1998 4,375 1,223 28.0 585 13.4 490 67 16 
			   1999 4,135 1,070 25.9 554 13.4 442 79 17 
			   2000 4,108 964 23.5 595 14.5 474 84 25 
			   2001 4,873 1,146 23.5 634 13.0 516 82 21 
			   2002 5,441 1,129 20.7 787 14.5 629 103 31 
			   2003 5,394 1,168 21.7 760 14.1 596 108 29 
			   2004 5,758 1,037 18.0 817 14.2 652 120 28 
			   2005 5,689 741 13.0 829 14.6 644 129 34 
		
	
	
		
			  Persons 
			  Immediate custody  Otherwise dealt with( 2) 
			  Offence  Statute  Year  Total persons sentenced  18 months and less than 2 years  2 years and less than 3 years  3 years and less than 4 years  4 years  More than 4 years  No.  % of persons sentenced 
			 Having an article with a blade or point in a public place Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec 1 39 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 3 1996 890 1 386 43.4 
			   1997 3,341 3 1,792 53.6 
			   1998 3,788 1 12,054 54.2 
			   1999 3,548 3 1,988 56.0 
			   2000 3,518  2,033 57.8 
			   2001 4,303 2 12,568 59.7 
			   2002 5,269 6 13,156 59.9 
			   2003 5,311 4 13,281 61.8 
			   2004 5,802 3 3,871 66.7 
			   2005 5,957 2 14,041 67.8 
			
			 Having an article with a blade or point on school premises Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec 139A(1) and (5X1) as added by the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 4(1) 1996 12  7 58.3 
			   1997 19  12 63.2 
			   1998 16  13 81.3 
			   1999 16  8 50.0 
			   2000 44  127 61.4 
			   2001 61  40 65.6 
			   2002 57  41 71.9 
			   2003 88  68 77.3 
			   2004 106  74 69.8 
			   2005 45  38 84.4 
			
			 Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse on school premises Criminal Justice Act 1988 sec139A(2) and (5Xb) as added by the Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 4(1) 1996 3
			   1997 191  13 68.4 
			   1998 20  14 70.0 
			   1999 201  14 70.0 
			   2000 18 1 12 66.7 
			   2001 19  14 73.7 
			   2002 21  16 76.2 
			   2003 21  117 81.0 
			   2004 33  28 84.8 
			   2005 30 - 25 83.3 
			
			 Publication of any written, pictorial or other material in connection with the marketing of any knifethe material is otherwise likely to stimulate or encourage violent behaviour involving use of a knife as a weapon Knives Act 1997 sec 2(1)(b) 1997 
			   1998 
			   1999 
			   2000 
			   2001 
			   2002 
			   2003 
			   2004 
			   2005 
			
			 Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse Prevention of Crime Act 1953 sec 1 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 sec 2(1) 1986 4,961 11 51,945 39.2 
			   1987 5,916 14 2,350 39.7 
			   1988 5,804 8 22,312 39.8 
			   1989 5,121 6 42,026 39.6 
			   1990 4,288 4 11,778 41.5 
			   1991 3,907 7 21,809 46.3 
			   1992 3,608 4 1,720 47.7 
			   1993 3,129 4 21,705 54.5 
			   1994 3,302 1 31,817 55.0 
			   1995 3,196 7 21,745 54.6 
			   1996 3,545 6 22,050 57.8 
			   1997 4,130 8 6 2   2,417 58.5 
			   1998 4,375 7 3 2   2,567 58.7 
			   1999 4,135 5 8 2 1  2,511 60.7 
			   2000 4,108 4 4 4   2,549 62.0 
			   2001 4,873 11 3 1   3,093 63.5 
			   2002 5,441 12 8 3 1  3,525 64.8 
			   2003 5,394 13 11 3   3,466 64.3 
			   2004 5,758 9 6 2   3,904 67.8 
			   2005 5,689 10 9 1 1 1 4,119 72.4 
			 (1) Principal offence basis. (2) Absolute and conditional discharges, community sentences and other miscellaneous disposals.  Source: RDS-NOMS, Home Office

Offensive Weapons

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of people convicted of encouraging violent behaviour involving the use of a knife under the Knives Act 1997 have been  (a) female and  (b) male.

Tony McNulty: Data from the Court Proceedings Database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform show that there have been no convictions for this offence.

Offensive Weapons: Schools

Jeremy Browne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) arrests were made and  (b) convictions were secured under section 139A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 for the offence of having an article with a blade or point or an offensive weapon on school premises in each of the last five years, broken down by age group.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 16 April 2007
	Information on arrests for recorded crime offences under s139 and 139A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (as amended by s4(1) of the Offensive Weapons Act 1996) and s1 of the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 (as amended by s2(1) of the Offensive Weapons Act 1996) are not separately identifiable within the arrests collection held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. The collection is based on persons arrested for recorded crime (notifiable offences) by main offence group (i.e. violence against the person, robbery, burglary, criminal damage etc) only.
	Information on the number of persons found guilty for the offences requested in England and Wales for the years 2001-05 is provided in the following table, broken down by age group.
	
		
			  Number of persons found guilty at all courts for certain offences( 1,2,3) , England and Wales 2001 to 2005 
			  Age group  
			   Offence description  Statute  Year  Aged 10 to 11  Aged 12 to 14  Aged 15 to 17  Aged 18 and over  All ages 
			 811 Possession of offensive weapons without lawful authority or reasonable excuse Prevention of Crime Act 1953, Sec 1(1) as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996, Sec 2(1 ) 2001 4 136 976 3,765 4,881 
			2002 5 113 953 4,398 5,469 
			2003 4 135 832 4,432 5,403 
			2004  134 1,047 4,576 5,757 
			2005 4 124 999 4,601 5,728 
			 826 Having an article with blade or point in public place Criminal Justice Act 1988, Sec 139 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996, Sec 3 2001 5 128 806 3,360 4,299 
			2002 2 134 812 4,333 5,281 
			2003 8 147 755 4,398 5,308 
			2004 5 170 817 4,792 5,784 
			2005 7 186 888 4,880 5,961 
			 827 Having an article with blade or point on school premises Criminal Justice Act 1988, Sec 139A (1)(5)(a) as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996, Sec 4(1) 2001  2 6 15 23 
			2002  6 10 3 19 
			2003 2 6 7 14 29 
			2004  11 16 10 37 
			2005 1 14 17 12 44 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Data for having an article with blade or point on school premises excludes convictions for West Mercia PFA until clarification of these cases is obtained.  (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Prisons: Television

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners in  (a) category C prisons,  (b) category D prisons and  (c) youth offender institutions have access to Sky television.

John Reid: No prisoners in category C or D prisons or young offender institutions now have access to subscription satellite TV channels in their cells. Where digital equipment is being installed, prisoners have access to selected free-to-air channels under the Sky brand name.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many Serious Organised Crime Agency officers are designated as having powers of arrest; and how many arrests have been made since 1 April 2006.

John Reid: On 1 April 2006, 1,821 SOCA officers were designated with the power of arrest. Since then an additional 27 SOCA officers have been designated with the power of arrest. SOCA also has a number of officers seconded from other agencies and of these 168 are designated with the power of arrest.
	For the period April to September 2006, 358 people were arrested as a result of UK based enforcement activity on SOCA operations. This figure includes both arrests by SOCA officers and arrests by other agencies on behalf of SOCA.

Serious Organised Crime Agency

David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 14 March 2007,  Official Report, column 402W, on the Serious Organised Crime Agency, with which criminal offences the 316 people were charged.

John Reid: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Nature of Offence  Number of individuals charged( 1) 
			 Drugs trafficking 240 
			 Illegal immigration 68 
			 Money laundering 24 
			 Fraud 1 
			 Firearms trafficking 3 
			 Counterfeit Currency 1 
			 Identity Cards 3 
			 Total 340(1) 
			 (1) The total is greater than 316 because some individuals were charged with more than one offence.

Terrorism: Money Laundering

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many terrorist investigations have been assisted following the introduction of the money laundering regulations 2003.

Edward Balls: I have been asked to reply.
	Financial investigation is a fundamental part of all counter-terrorist investigations. The Money Laundering Regulations 2003 place a number of requirements on the regulated sector, such as to identify their customers and hold customer records, and to have in place other procedures which in turn support the reporting of suspicious activity, which have proved valuable in the wider terrorist effort.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Alcoholic Drinks

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what quantity of  (a) beers and ciders,  (b) aperitifs, fortified wines and spirits and  (c) wines were purchased by the Refreshment Department in each of the last three years; what the cost of these purchases was in each year; and what percentage of each of these items was imported.

Nick Harvey: Accounts have not yet been finalised for the full year ending March 2007, but estimated alcoholic beverage purchases during the 11 months to February 2007 were as follows:
	
		
			  April 2006 to February 2007( 1)  Quantity (litres)  Estimated cost of purchases ()  Percentage quantity imported 
			  (a) beers and ciders 40,000 60,100 17 
			  (b) aperitifs, fortified wines and spirits 5,700 80,400 12 
			  (c) wines 57,300 379,900 98 
			 (1) 11 months 
		
	
	Detailed purchase information is not currently available for the year 2005-06 due to technical issues that are being investigated by the software supplier. The Director of Catering Services will write to the hon. Member with the requested information when it becomes available.
	The software used by the Refreshment Department does not retain historical information of purchases on a product-by-product basis for earlier years. However, I would remind the hon. Member that information about beverage purchase quantities and the percentage of imported products for the 11 months from April 2004 until February 2005 has previously been provided to him. I corrected the information originally provided by my predecessor in my letter to the hon. Member on 21 November 2005, but for ease of reference I set out in full the corrected information provided to his previous question tabled in March 2005:
	
		
			  April 2004 to February 2005( 1)  Quantity (litres)  Percentage quantity imported 
			  (d) beers and ciders 38,051 17 
			  (e) aperitifs, fortified wines and spirits 4,579 8 
			  (f) wines 56,987 95 
			 (1)11 months

Water

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what estimate he has made of  (a) the carbon footprint associated with the use of bottled water within the House and  (b) what the footprint would be were only tap water available.

Nick Harvey: No estimate has yet been made of the carbon footprint associated with the use of bottled water within the House, but one is now being drawn up.

Water

Norman Baker: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what measures are being  (a) taken and  (b) considered to promote efficiency in the use of water on the House of Commons estate.

Nick Harvey: The measures being taken to promote efficiency in the use of water on the House of Commons estate include: surveys of toilets, shower rooms and washrooms to obtain quotations for the installation of controls for urinal cisterns, conversion of existing turn or cross head taps to non-concussive self closing push taps, installation of pressure compensating aerators to taps to reduce water flow and the replacement of existing showers with aerated showers to reduce water flow. Thames Water staff inspected most of the toilets on the House of Commons estate in early 2006 and fitted a water saving device to approximately 20 WC cisterns. A consultant is currently investigating how to better promote and implement the energy and water saving policy among staff and other users of the estate's facilities.
	A proposal to run an environment champions programme in each estate building is also currently being considered, which would promote better energy and water efficiency and waste management.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Overseas Aid: Water

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much was allocated to projects involving water and sanitation by his Department in 2006-07; and if he will make a statement.

Gareth Thomas: The UK has agreed that half of our direct aid to poor countries should be spent on basic services, including water. We will double our support to water and sanitation in Africa to 95 million a year by 2008-09 and then double it again to 200 million a year by 2001-11.
	DFID's total support to the sector, including through the World Bank, the multilateral development banks and the EC, was 242 million in 2005-06. Our bilateral funding was just over half of this at around 130 million in 2005-06.
	Our total support to sub-Saharan Africa has increased significantly to 78 million (from 46 million in 2002-03), so we are on track to reach the World Water Day target of 95 million by 2007-08.
	Further detail on DFID's expenditure in the sector can be found in our report 'Financial Support to the water sector 2004-2006', which will be placed in the Library of the House. This is our most recent report and was published in March 2007. Details of our 2006-07 expenditure are not yet available.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Aerials: Planning Permission

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many planning applications  (a) to construct and  (b) to add to existing telecommunications masts in each council area of Northern Ireland were approved in the last 12 months.

David Cairns: The Department of the Environment's Planning Service approved 155 planning applications for telecommunications masts between 1 April 2006 and 31 March 2007 and the following table shows the number approved in each district council area. I regret that the Planning Service's electronic records system does not provide a distinction between an application for the construction of a mast and an addition to an existing mast.
	
		
			  District council area  Planning approvals in 2006-07 
			 Antrim 4 
			 Ards 4 
			 Armagh 2 
			 Ballymena 5 
			 Ballymoney 2 
			 Banbridge 2 
			 Belfast 26 
			 Carrickfergus 3 
			 Castlereagh 6 
			 Coleraine 7 
			 Cookstown 1 
			 Craigavon 6 
			 Derry 12 
			 Down 5 
			 Dungannon 7 
			 Fermanagh 3 
			 Larne 1 
			 Limavady 1 
			 Lisburn 12 
			 Magherafelt 3 
			 Moyle 0 
			 Newry and Mourne 8 
			 Newtownabbey 4 
			 North Down 8 
			 Omagh 14 
			 Strabane 9 
			 Total 155

Community Support Officers

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what facilities are to be provided for the training of community support officers to be recruited in Northern Ireland; and at what cost.

Paul Goggins: Training for PCSOs will be based on a six-week programme, comprising both classroom and practical-based learning. It is envisaged that part of this training will take place within the community and the environments in which PCSOs will work. The programme will include role specific training, skills development, and the knowledge necessary for working in the communityincluding human rights, diversity, ethics and problem solving. As with other members of police staff, PCSOs will have access to ongoing training as needed
	Full costings for training are not yet available.

Community Support Officers

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland when he expects the recruitment of community support officers (CSOs) in Northern Ireland to begin; and when he expects the first CSOs to be deployed.

Paul Goggins: The following table sets out the proposed timetable for the first recruitment campaign. This has yet to be finalised and is therefore subject to change.
	
		
			  Date  
			 4 May 2007 Extensive outreach campaign to inform the public and potential applicants as to the role and functions of a PCSO 
			 Week beginning 21 May 2007 Recruitment advertisements 
			 October 2007 Recruitment process completed 
			 January 2008 First training programme commences 
			 February 2008 First PCSOs on patrol in E District (Armagh, Banbridge, Craigavon and Newry and Mourne)

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the operating costs of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland was in each of the last six years.

David Cairns: The operating cost of Driver and Vehicle Licensing Northern Ireland in each of the last six years was as follows:
	
		
			   Amount (000) 
			 2000-01 11,329 
			 2001-02 12,169 
			 2002-03 13,713 
			 2003-04 15,514 
			 2004-05 17,091 
			 2005-06 18,511

Further Education: Student Drop-outs

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what analysis has been carried out to ascertain the main reasons why students in further education in Northern Ireland dropped out of their courses in the last three years.

Maria Eagle: A range of analysis has been carried out by DEL to ascertain the main reasons why students in further education in Northern Ireland dropped out of their courses in the last three years. This includes analysis of the available data regarding the 'reasons for withdrawal' variable contained within the Further Education Leavers Survey (FELS) returns as well as analysis undertaken by the Education and Training Inspectorate on retention within a college as part of their inspection process.

Further Education: Student Drop-outs

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many students in further education in Northern Ireland failed to complete their course in the last 12 months; and how many of them were in the final year of their course.

Maria Eagle: During the 2005/06 academic year a total of 24,219 enrolments, which equates to some 16 per cent. of total provision, in the Northern Ireland Further Education Sector failed to complete their course. Some 16,157 of this total were final year enrolments.
	 Notes:
	1. The source for this analysis is the Further Education Statistical Record (FESR) and the Further Education Leavers Survey (FELS).
	2. The figures quoted include students who dropped out of their original programme of study and subsequently transferred to another course.
	3. The data above pertain to assessed provision only and are the latest available.

Licensed Premises

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many businesses were licensed to sell alcohol in each district council area in each of the last six years; how many of those businesses breached their licence over the same period; and what penalty was imposed in each case in which all proceedings are complete.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	Court data in respect of licensed premises are recorded by Petty Sessions District. The information requested is tabled as follows.
	
		
			  Table A 
			  Petty  S essions  D istrict  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Antrim 73 62 56 66 71 70 
			 Armagh 101 104 103 103 104 106 
			 Ards (includes Castlereagh) 146 128 118 124 129 127 
			 Ballymena 85 82 81 89 83 86 
			 Banbridge 63 53 68 70 66 67 
			 Belfast 523 427 470 489 599 566 
			 Craigavon 82 71 70 86 99 101 
			 Down 147 149 148 150 156 151 
			 East Tyrone 199 161 196 185 193 194 
			 Fermanagh 154 123 152 152 158 170 
			 Larne 42 42 41 42 44 44 
			 Limavady 63 64 61 60 57 63 
			 Lisburn 113 103 106 109 100 107 
			 Londonderry 175 155 156 171 182 189 
			 Magherafelt 90 67 77 79 78 79 
			 North Antrim 208 217 195 204 204 207 
			 North Down 98 95 91 100 100 102 
			 Newry and Mourne 175 151 181 188 185 184 
			 Omagh 106 93 110 100 112 115 
			 Strabane 82 79 81 83 82 84 
			 Total 2,725 2,426 2,561 2,650 2,802 2,812 
		
	
	
		
			  Petty  S essions  D istrict  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Antrim   
			 Armagh   
			 Ards (includes Castlereagh) 1 Breach  
			  Fine 400.00  
			 Ballymena   
			 Banbridge   
			 Belfast  2 Breaches 7 Breaches 5 Breaches  1 Breach 
			   Fine 250.00 4 x Fine 75.00 Licence suspended 1 week 2 x Fine 150.00  8 x Fine 50.00 
			   4 x Fine 125.00 
			   Fine 500.00 2 x Fine 400.00 4 x Fine 75.00   
			   Fine 750.00 2 x Fine 500.00
			   Licence suspended 1 day Fine 2,500.00 2 x Licence suspended 6 weeks
			3 x Fine 1,000.00 2 x Fine 200.00   
			 4 x Fine 500.00   
			 2 x Fine 750.00   
			2 x Fine 75.00 5 x Fine 250.00   
			2 x Fine 100.00 3 x Fine 500.00   
			5 x Fine 750.00 Fine 1,000.00 Licence suspended 1 month   
			3 x Fine 1,500.00
			Fine 75.00 Fine 75.00   
			Fine 250.00 Fine 100.00 Fine 250.00   
			2 x Fine 750.00 2 x Fine 150.00   
			 Fine 200.00   
			 Fine 350.00   
			6 x Fine 75.00
			2 x Fine 100.00
			2 x Fine 150.00
			5 x Fine 250.00
			2 x Fine 500.00 Licence suspended 1 week
			3 x Fine 100.00
			4 x Fine 200.00
			Fine 250.00
			5 x Fine 500.00
			Fine 1,000.00
			Fine 1,500.00
			Fine 2,000.00
			 Craigavon1 Breach   
			 Fine 300.00   
			 Down1 Breach  1 Breach 
			 Fine 200.00 Licence suspended 1 week  Fine 350.00 
			   Fine 150.00 
			 East Tyrone 1 Breach  2 Breaches  6 Breaches 7 Breaches 
			  Fine 75.00  Fine 140.00  Fine 750.00 Licence suspended 1 week Fine 200.00 
			Fine 300.00  Fine 200.00 Licence suspended 1 week Fine 250.00 Fine 150.00 
			  Fine 300.00 Fine 360.00 
			  Fine 750.00 Licence suspended 1 week 2 x Fine 500.00 
			  Fine 300.00 2 x Fine 500.00 
			  Fine 500.00 Licence suspended 2 weeks 2 x Fine 300.00 
			   Fine 1,000.00 
			 Fermanagh   1 Breach
			Fine 450.00
			 Larne 1 Breach  
			  Fine 500.00  
			 Limavady  1 Breach 
			   Fine 500.00 
			 Lisburn4 Breaches   
			 Fine 100.00   
			 Fine 300.00   
			 Fine 150.00   
			 Fine 150.00   
			 Londonderry   
			 Magherafelt   
			 North Antrim   
			 North Down 1 Breach  
			  Fine 750.00  
			 Newry and Mourne  1 Breach 
			   Fine 150.00 
			 Omagh  1 Breach 
			   2 x Fine 150.00 
			   Fine 300.00 
			 Strabane  2 Breaches   2 Breaches 4 Breaches 
			   Fine 250.00   Fine 250.00 Fine 500.00 
			   2 x Fine 1,000.00 
			   Fine 250.00   Fine 1,000.00 2,000.00 
			   200.00 
			   500.00

Licensed Premises

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many alcohol licence applications were made in each district council area in Northern Ireland in each of the last six years; and how many were  (a) accepted and  (b) declined.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	Court data in respect of alcohol licence applications in Northern Ireland are recorded by petty sessions district. Similar information was sought last year and published on 9 October. One application refused in Craigavon in 2001 was omitted from the answer provided then. The following table corrects this mistake and shows the number of alcohol licence applications granted and refused in each of the last six years for each petty sessions district.
	
		
			  Number 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			  Petty Sessions District  Granted  Refused  Granted  Refused  Granted  Refused  Granted  Refused  Granted  Refused  Granted  Refused 
			 Antrim 4  2  1  2 1 5  1  
			 Ards (inc Castlereagh) 10  7  3  11  9  8  
			 Armagh 3  4  9  2  4  5  
			 Ballymena 5  2  5  4  2  4  
			 Banbridge 1  2  1  2  3  1  
			 Belfast 26 2 37  45 5 25  42  50  
			 Craigavon 3  5  5  7  5  4  
			 Down 6  8  3  3  10  4  
			 East Tyrone 5  4 1 9  12  8  7  
			 Fermanagh 6  4  8  2  0  2  
			 Lame 0  0  0  4  4  0  
			 Limavady 2  1  0  1  3  3  
			 Lisburn 5 1 4  8  2  6  10  
			 Londonderry 19  10  8  8  12  5  
			 Magherafelt 3  8  3  2  1  2  
			 Newry and Moume 3  3  4  4  4  14  
			 North Antrim 8  9  2  8  9  7  
			 North Down 0  1  5  3  4  6  
			 Omagh 5  2  5  2  6  8  
			 Strabane 0  1  1  3  3  0  
			 Total 114 3 114 1 125 5 107 1 140 0 141 0

Northern Ireland Water

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  what septic tank emptying service Northern Ireland Water has offered since 1 April 2007; what charges are planned for this service; what revenue is expected in each of the next three financial years; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the status is of the septic tank emptying agreements between Northern Ireland Water and households in Northern Ireland; what direct communication the households concerned have received on the alteration of the agreements; and if he will make a statement.

David Cairns: The Water and Sewerage Services (NI) Order 2006 transferred responsibility for the delivery of water and sewerage services from the Department's Water Service Agency to a statutory water and sewerage undertaker. A government-owned company, Northern Ireland Water (NIW) has been appointed as the undertaker and the issues raised are operational matters for it. I have asked the Chief Executive of NIW (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) to write to the hon. Gentleman in response to these questions.

Proscribed Organisations

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his assessment is of  (a) recruitment,  (b) weapons procurement,  (c) bomb making capability and  (d) other recent activity by dissident Republican paramilitary organisations.

Peter Hain: As stated in the fourteenth IMC report, dissident republicans continue their attempts to recruit members and to procure and develop weapons. Dissident republicans have proved they are capable of making munitions and are a real and capable threat, as the recent find of a sophisticated mortar device in Lurgan demonstrates. While they continue to be intent on causing serious harm, I have every confidence in the PSNI's ability to deal with this threat

Regeneration

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland which communities have received funding from the Renewing Communities programme since the establishment of the scheme; and how much each received.

David Hanson: The Renewing Communities programme was established April 2006 as a wide range of over 60 actions spread across eight Government Departments. It incorporates existing policies and programmes that are central to Government's efforts in tackling deprivation wherever it exists. These are mainstream programmes involving allocations of funding in excess of 200 million and supporting disadvantaged communities across all of Northern Ireland.
	In addition, a smaller number of pilot projects have been developed to target disadvantaged communities and to test new ideas and new ways of working to combat specific aspects of local deprivation. These pilot projects account for an annual budget of approximately 14 million over the two years 2006-08. Careful analysis of these projects will show that many are open to participants and communities from across the traditional divide. While we are barely half way through what is a two year funding initiative, it is too early to report accurately on the actual spend in specific communities. However, it is worth noting that around one third of all the Renewing Communities Actions are specifically targeted on pilot programmes in single identity Protestant communities experiencing some of the worst levels of deprivation.

Regeneration

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps were taken to ensure that  (a) the Renewing Communities programme and  (b) the projects supported by funding from that scheme honoured the equality provisions as laid out in the Northern Ireland Act 1998; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: In developing the Renewing Communities Action Plan, all Government Departments were asked to identify existing policies and programmes that were relevant to addressing the needs of disadvantaged communities, including those in Protestant areas, in line with recommendations made in the cross-departmental Taskforce Report published in April 2006. This included two emerging programmes in the Children and Young People's package and the Skills and Science package announced in early 2006. Each of these major policies and programmes, forming the core of Government's response, have already been subjected to equality screening by the responsible lead Department.
	Also included in the Renewing Communities Action Plan are a number of initiatives designed to try new ideas for tackling specific aspects of deprivation and to test new ways to work with and in disadvantaged communities. After thorough evaluation and assessment, if these projects prove successful, then the appropriate lead Department will take steps to roll out successful programmes across all communities experiencing similar deprivation. At this stage the lead Department will be required to carry out an equality assessment prior to the introduction of any new policy.

Regeneration

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the operation of the Renewing Communities programme since its establishment; and what the future plans for the scheme are.

David Hanson: The Renewing Communities Plan has been a positive development for Northern Ireland. A cross-departmental Delivery Team, chaired by the Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, has been established to review and monitor progress of all of the actions contained in the Renewing Communities Action Plan. The Delivery Team has reported regularly to me on the progress of the programme across all of the actions and of the arrangements to ensure cohesive inter-departmental working where appropriate. Individual lead Departments and their delivery agencies have been tasked with the responsibility for the evaluation of all their relevant actions before the Delivery Team completes an overview assessment of all the programmes of actions.
	Following these two levels of assessment, the Delivery Team will determine those particular programmes which are considered to have potential to be rolled out across all disadvantaged communities and mainstreamed as part of each Department's contribution to tackling deprivation wherever it exists.

Social Rented Housing

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many public authority houses were sold by the housing associations and the Northern Ireland Housing Executive between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2007.

David Hanson: Between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2007 the Northern Ireland Housing Executive sold a total of 29,844 houses to sitting tenants In the same period registered housing associations in Northern Ireland sold 911 houses to sitting tenants.

Social Rented Housing

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total housing stock owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive and the housing associations  (a) is and  (b) was in April (i) 2000, (ii) 2002, (iii) 2004 and (iv) 2006; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The total housing stock owned by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive at the dates requested was:
	
		
			  At 31 March  Total stock 
			 2000 128,622 
			 2002 113,272 
			 2004 102,850 
			 2006 95,067 
			 2007 92,118 
		
	
	The total housing stock which is owned by the Northern Ireland registered housing associations is not yet available as the returns for the year ended 31 March 2007 are not due from associations until Friday 29 June 2007.
	Stock owned by the Northern Ireland registered housing associations, excluding the Northern Ireland Co-ownership Housing Association stock, at the dates requested was:
	
		
			  At 31 March  House s /apartments  Supported/sheltered bedspaces  Total 
			 2000 17,389 3,873 21,262 
			 2002 18,900 3,695 22,595 
			 2004 21,052 3,845 24,897 
			 2006 22,076 4,427 26,503

South Eastern Education and Library Board

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the timetable is for reinstatement of the South Eastern Education and Library Board; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: Commissioners were appointed to the South Eastern Education and Library Board only because of the failure of Board members to operate effectively and within the resources allocated by my Department and voted by Parliament. I have always made clear that I would respond positively to any credible approach from Board members that was coupled with a firm assurance that they were prepared to work together constructively, meeting the necessary corporate governance requirements, taking decisions within the resources allocated and taking account of Government policy priorities. To date no such approach has been forthcoming.

TRADE AND INDUSTRY

Business: Ethics

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Corporate Social Responsibility Academy Management Committee last met.

Margaret Hodge: I refer the hon. Member to my reply to his questions, 132544, 132545, 132546 and 132547 answered on 19 April 2007,  Official  R eport, column 767W.
	The CSR Academy did not have a management committee. The Project Director reported to DTI and the Academy Chairman through quarterly reports and met with DTI on a regular basis.

Companies House: Standards

Jonathan Djanogly: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether Companies House targets issued by his office on 16 April vary from existing targets.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 19 April 2007
	 There are some changes between the targets set for Companies House in 2006-07 and those set in 2007-08. Copies of written statements giving targets for both years are available in the House of Commons Library; and at 30 March 2006,  Official Report, column 100WS, and 16 April 2007,  Official Report, column 4WS.

Departments: Trade Unions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many meetings  (a) he and  (b) his Department's Ministers held with (i) business representatives, (ii) trade union representatives and (iii) consumer representatives in 2006.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Ministers regularly meet business, trade union and consumer representatives but information on the number held could be provided only at a disproportionate cost.

TRANSPORT

Airports: Fees and Charges

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the potential contribution to environmental protection of the proposed measures in the European Commission's draft Directive on Airport Charges; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The draft directive on airport charges sets common principles to be respected by airport operators when they determine the level of airport charges. It contains no measures concerning environmental protection, but does not prohibit airport operators from setting environmental charges provided that they do so in accordance with the directive. The Department is currently consulting UK stakeholders on the proposals.

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what his policy is on the airport emissions charging principles recommended by the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC/27-4); and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: ECAC recommended a harmonised method for classifying aircraft according to their NOx emissions for the potential purpose of emission charges. The Civil Aviation Act 2006 provides powers for all airports to introduce charges that reflect the pollution generated by each aircraft type, in the way that Heathrow and Gatwick already do. Those charging schemes already follow the recommended method.

British Airways: Standards

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what assessment his Department has made of the recent performance of British Airways;
	(2)  what discussions he has had with British Airways on their record of service to travellers in recent months;
	(3)  what steps he is taking to ensure that  (a) British Airways and  (b) BAA plc. has made appropriate preparations to manage risk.

Gillian Merron: As private companies, British Airways and BAA are responsible in the first instance to their shareholders for their performance. However, on behalf of transport users the Department takes a close interest in the operations of all UK airports and airlines as we do with all transport sectors, and in that context regular engagement is maintained with BA and BAA, including on consumer issues.

Departments: Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people in his Department participated in  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in each year since 1997-98; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport came into being on 29 May 2002 and therefore figures before this date are not available.
	Since that date, the figures are:
	
		
			   Involuntary  Voluntary 
			 2002-03 1 1 
			 2003-04 0 26 
			 2004-05 0 109 
			 2005-06 0 162 
			 2006-07 0 352

Departments: Redundancy

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people in his Department who participated in  (a) involuntary and  (b) voluntary staff exit schemes in each year since 1997-98 were paid between (i) 0 to 25,000, (ii) 25,001 to 50,000, (iii) 50,001 to 75,000, (iv) 75,001 to 100,000 and (v) over 100,000; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The Department was formed in May 2002 and the information requested is in the table as follows.
	
		
			  Lump sum compensation payments 
			   2002-03  2003-04( 1)  2004-05( 1)  2005-06( 1)  2006-07( 1) 
			 Department for Transport One involuntary staff exit (between 50,001 and 75,000) and one voluntary for which details are not available. i. 17 ii. 3 iii. 0 iv. 0 v. 0; Six other voluntary exits for which details are not available i. 26 ii. 52 iii. 29 iv. 1 v. 0; One other voluntary exit for which details are not available i. 72 ii. 31 iii. 26 iv. 6 v. 10; 17 other voluntary exits for which details are not available i. 260 ii. 66 iii. 12 iv. 6 v. 8 
			 Driving Standards Agency Information not available due to current change over of HR/Finance IT systems 
			 (1) Voluntary

London Airports: Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what impact charges on the emission of oxides of nitrogen on  (a) landing and  (b) take-off at Heathrow and Gatwick airports have had on such emissions in each year since their introduction; and whether the revenue from those charges is hypothecated for spending on further emissions reduction measures.

Gillian Merron: It is too early to assess the effect of charges. The current framework is essentially revenue neutral with rebates for clean aircraft funded by the less clean aircraft. This, and other levers, have encouraged the industry to commit to reducing NOx emissions by 80 per cent. for new aircraft in 2020 compared with 2000.

Roads: Construction

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many miles of motorway and trunk road network of national strategic routes have been widened to ease traffic bottlenecks.

Stephen Ladyman: I refer the hon. Member to my answer of 26 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1246W.

TREASURY

Civil Servants: Location

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many civil servants have moved to  (a) Huddersfield and  (b) Kirklees since the Lyons Review.

Stephen Timms: By December last year 11,068 posts had been relocated out of London and the South East to every nation and region in the UK, with 2,287 moving to Yorkshire and Humberside.
	To date no posts have been moved to Huddersfield or Kirklees.
	However, a number of posts have moved to within commuting distance of Kirklees, including 293 posts relocated to Leeds from seven different Government Departments (DCA, DCLG, DFES, DH, DTI, HMRC and HO), with a further 113 DWP posts relocated to Halifax and 129 DWP posts to Bradford.

EC Budget: Contributions

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the UK has paid per head of UK population in gross contributions to the European Union since becoming a member.

Edward Balls: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 23 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1669W.

EC Budget: Contributions

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) gross and  (b) net contribution paid by the UK to the EU was since (i) 1997 and (ii) 1 January 2006; and whether he holds information on what those figures are since 1972.

Edward Balls: Details of the United Kingdom's gross contributions after taking account of the abatement, the amount paid to the EC Budget, public sector receipts and net contributions to the EC Budget in the years 2000 to 2005, together with an estimate for 2006, can be found in Table 3 (page 46) of the European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 6770) published in May 2006. Figures for earlier years can be found in the equivalent tables which have been published in earlier editions of this annual White Paper. An outturn figure for 2006, together with an estimate for 2007, will be published in the 2007 edition of the White Paper.

Ministerial Visits

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 29 March 2007,  Official Report, column 1750W, on ministerial visits, what the cost was of each visit undertaken by the Economic Secretary to the Treasury in the last two years.

Edward Balls: All ministerial visits are conducted in accordance with the Ministerial Code and Travel by Ministers. As with all inquiries relating to the cost of ministerial travel, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the information the Government have published on an annual basis since 1999, listing overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of 500 and the total cost of all ministerial travel. Information for 2006-07 will be published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year.

NHS: Finance

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has made an assessment of the likely impact on the NHS of Schedule 3 of the Finance Bill.

Stephen Timms: Such information, as is available, on the impact of Schedule 3 of the Finance Bill is included in the Regulatory Impact Assessment 'Managed Service Companies' published on the HMRC website on 29 March 2007.

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer on what basis central government funding is allocated to Scotland; whether he plans to review the funding formula; and what the allocation per head of population was in  (a) England,  (b) Scotland and  (c) Wales in 2006.

Stephen Timms: The basis for central Government funding of the devolved Administrations is set out in the Statement of Funding Policy published by the Treasury in July 2004. The Government have no plans to review the Barnett formula. Identifiable spending per head in England, Scotland and Wales in 2005-06 is 6,762, 8,265 and 7,666 respectively; these figures include both devolved and reserved spending and are published in Public Expenditure Statistical Analyses (Cm 6811).

Stamp Duties

Theresa Villiers: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his estimate is of the number of zero- carbon homes which may qualify for relief from stamp duty under the provisions of Clause 19 of the Finance Bill, broken down by region.

Edward Balls: No estimate is available of the numbers of qualifying zero-carbon homes by region.

Suicide: Greater London

Sarah Teather: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many suicides were committed in each London borough in each of the last 10 years.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 20 April 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many suicides were committed in each London borough in each of the last ten years. I am replying in her absence. (132919)
	The attached table provides the number of deaths where suicide was the underlying cause of death, in each London Borough, from 1996 to 2005 (the latest year available).
	
		
			  Table 1:  N umber of deaths where suicide (death from intentional self-harm, or injury or poisoning of undetermined intent) was the underlying cause of death( 1) , London boroughs, 1996-2005( 2,)( )( 3) 
			  Deaths (persons) 
			   1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			  Greater London 628 667 778 682 621 630 630 659 627 620 
			
			  Inner London 310 324 352 334 295 308 298 306 305 291 
			 Camden 28 28 45 31 30 25 25 30 38 27 
			 City of London 1 2 0 1 1 1 0 1 1 0 
			 Hackney 26 18 22 23 20 28 18 17 20 17 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 14 19 12 23 15 22 15 12 19 24 
			 Haringey 26 21 21 14 15 27 21 25 18 21 
			 Islington 22 19 26 30 23 25 30 26 36 27 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 18 19 22 22 19 18 17 17 20 19 
			 Lambeth 44 31 41 32 26 27 23 29 25 22 
			 Lewisham 25 37 36 30 28 17 24 19 22 24 
			 Newham 14 13 25 20 23 22 12 23 21 16 
			 Southwark 25 35 29 33 29 20 26 33 24 24 
			 Tower Hamlets 14 21 20 19 17 22 29 18 19 10 
			 Wandsworth 24 34 33 35 21 24 31 30 20 26 
			 Westminster 29 27 20 21 28 30 27 26 22 34 
			
			  Outer London 318 343 426 348 326 322 332 353 322 329 
			 Barking and Dagenham 7 10 13 16 11 12 12 8 8 6 
			 Barnet 25 23 28 27 32 23 23 25 20 24 
			 Bexley 16 18 19 21 10 15 14 18 20 12 
			 Brent 26 23 37 23 21 23 22 22 18 14 
			 Bromley 20 17 28 25 17 24 22 25 24 17 
			 Croydon 38 25 28 21 25 18 20 26 21 25 
			 Ealing 18 27 38 23 31 17 33 23 26 38 
			 Enfield 27 16 19 18 16 29 25 24 21 20 
			 Greenwich 16 24 25 24 9 18 14 16 18 26 
			 Harrow 9 20 17 14 17 18 20 15 17 15 
			 Havering 11 14 15 11 17 11 14 14 7 10 
			 Hillingdon 26 17 24 25 21 24 23 32 16 17 
			 Hounslow 14 16 17 20 14 16 21 10 22 18 
			 Kingston upon Thames 10 8 22 11 7 7 14 8 18 16 
			 Merton 10 17 15 16 17 14 12 18 13 19 
			 Redbridge 14 17 23 12 14 12 14 23 18 14 
			 Richmond upon Thames 6 14 19 19 24 12 6 14 13 7 
			 Sutton 12 21 12 12 14 8 6 17 4 20 
			 Waltham Forest 13 16 27 10 9 21 17 15 18 11 
			 (1) Cause of death was defined using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes E950-E959 and E980-E989 excluding E988.8 for the years 1995 to 2000, and the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) codes X60-X84 and Y10-Y34 excluding Y33.9 (where the Coroner's verdict was pending) for the years 2001 to 2004. Figures are for persons aged 15 and over. (2) Based on local authority boundaries as of 2007. (3) Figures are for deaths registered in each calendar year.

Tax Credits

Chris Mullin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library the official advice provided to the then Chancellor of the Exchequer regarding his decision in 1993 to reduce from 25 to 20 per cent. the tax credits on dividends.

Edward Balls: I and my ministerial colleagues do not have access to the papers of the previous Conservative Administration.

Taxation: Alcoholic Drinks

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he made of the potential for fiscal incentives to contribute to the promotion of responsible drinking prior to the 2007 Budget; and what discussions he had with the Secretary of State for Health on this matter.

Stephen Timms: The Chancellor makes decisions about the appropriate level of excise duty on alcohol at Budget time, taking all relevant factors into consideration. Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings with a wide range of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings.

WALES

Departments: Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures are in place to limit the amount of money spent on alcohol for hospitality purposes by his Department.

Peter Hain: The Wales Office ensures that value for money is achieved on all hospitality expenditure, which is conducted in accordance with the principles of Government Accounting and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Grandparents: Parental Responsibility

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many grandparents claim income support allowances for grandchildren towards whom they act as parents.

James Plaskitt: The information is not available.